Third week

I’ve been in Brisbane all week. Once a got over the initial nervousness of driving on different roads and got used to the strange driving habits of the Australians, I really enjoyed driving around in the sunshine.

It’s been a much better week. I’ve been to some third sector organisations and met some wonderful people. I’m feeling much more inspired and I am starting to understand the benefit of coming to Australia.

I met up with Di Macleod who is CEO of The Gold Coast Action Against Sexual Violence organisation. The Centre is very similar to Arch although they seem to have a much better Government funding arrangement than we do in the UK.

Di and I really bonded, we realised that there were many similarities between our organisations and we felt that we could learn a lot from each other. We are thinking about setting up an international sister organisation partnership, where we could share good practice and potentially set up a staff exchange scheme.  It all sounds quite exciting.

I visited the Southport Courthouse and met up with the team from the Domestic Violence Court. I also met Natalie Walker-Winmill who is the Court Victim Liaison officer. This is a similar role to witness care.

I was also introduced to Judy Geary one of the Public Prosecutors. It was great to see that the Gold Coast Centre had a really positive relationship with the Court staff. It was very clear that victim care was the top of everyone’s agenda.

I visited a Centre on the outskirts of Brisbane, The Centre Against Sexual Violence, another third sector organisation. I met the lead Counsellor Joyce. She was doing some interesting work around sexual abuse and older people. This is an area that we haven’t explored in any depth. Joyce has inspired me to follow up this area of work on my return.

Well at the end of my third week I am feeling very positive and motivated. I’m looking forward to an exciting week in Melbourne; I have some interesting meetings planned. In Melbourne they are currently piloting a scheme where multi disciplinary teams have been co-located to the same venue, creating a one-stop-shop for victims of sexual violence. It will be fascinating to find out how all that works.

Before I do any more visits I’m planning to have a relaxing weekend with my daughter who lives in Melbourne.