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Amy's* one
Christmas wish is to
not be scared anymore.
Will you help?
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Christmas should be a time for happiness, but for too many children like Amy it's anything but merry.

Tragically, rates of domestic and family violence spike by as much as 20% during the festive season^ and children are the voiceless victims that suffer the most.

This Christmas will you protect children like Amy from the devastating effects of domestic and family violence?

*Names changed and models used to protect privacy.
^NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research – Domestic Violence statistics for NSW

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1 in 4 children in Australia
are exposed to domestic violence**

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30 children in Australia
were killed by a parent in 2018^^

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628 children aged 0-14
were hospitalised for injuries due to abuse in 2017-18^^

The peak time of year for domestic and family violence is Christmas - which is nearly upon us.
With the number of children affected by abuse already at a record high,
the need for your help has never been more urgent!

DONATE NOW

 

strip Your Christmas gift is crucial to children's safety and recovery

We urgently need your support to help provide life-saving crisis accommodation and support to families like Amy and Rebecca who are fleeing domestic and family violence, as well as the ongoing emotional support they need to begin healing from the extensive trauma they've endured.

 

Escape
$60 can go towards creating an escape plan and providing crisis accommodation so victim-survivors have somewhere safe to flee to.

 

Safety
$90 can go towards providing legal support to victim-survivors to help with Apprehended Violence Order applications and custody hearings.

 

Recovery
$155 can go towards providing art therapy and counselling to children to help them heal from their trauma and reach their full potential.

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**Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse 2011, The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children: A Literature Review. ^^Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Health impacts of family, domestic and sexual violence 2020.

strip  Amy knows the rules  

CONTENT WARNING: Includes references to domestic and family violence and physical and emotional trauma.

For the first six years of her life, Amy* lived on the knife-edge of her dad's temper. She had to be quiet and pick up her toys or her dad would get angry and hit her mum Rebecca* over and over.

"Amy was terrified her father would kill her mum. Every night, she'd crawl from her bed and sleep on the floor outside her parents' room, so she would hear if anything happened." – Gethin, Barnardos Program Manager.

Amy thought it was all her fault. Maybe if she picked up her dolls faster, her dad wouldn’t have gotten angry enough to punch and kick her mum. Maybe if she didn’t cry so noisily, her dad wouldn’t have put out cigarettes on her mother’s skin.

Something we see too often in children once they’re away from domestic and family violence is that the terror doesn’t stop - Amy often begs and pleads not to go to school and cries in panic when she is away from her mum, because she has been so conditioned to worry that something will happen to her mum when she is not there. She also loves to draw but takes her art book and pens to bed with her every night, so that no one can throw them away because that’s what her dad did to anything she cared about.

That’s why we urgently need your support to help Amy and many children like her to find safety from domestic and family violence.

Your generosity will enable us to provide families like Amy and Rebecca’s with emergency crisis accommodation to escape a very dangerous situation quickly and safely. Children will also benefit from art therapy to help them process all the trauma they’ve experienced, and to take part in supported playgroups where they can begin to heal through making friends, doing fun activities, and just being kids again.

Your help will provide Rebecca with safety planning, financial and legal support so she and Amy can gain independence and start rebuilding their lives away from their abuser.

READ MORE

If you are experiencing domestic violence, or are concerned about someone who is, contact 1800 737 732 for 24-hour confidential support.

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