ASPIRE Image Gallery

Photo-voice was used to document participants' perspectives on opportunities for community-led responses to violence against migrant and refugee women.

ASPIRE PHOTOGRAPHS

We say “Home Sweet Home”. Why? Because home is a place where love is shared, warmth is felt, safety is experienced and welcome is made. How infinitely cruel it is when your own home denies all this (love, warmth, safety and peace)! Abuse associated with family violence, loneliness and isolation experienced by women turns the sweetness of their home to the shroud of sadness. When I took this photo, I was thinking of millions of women across the globe, who cry behind closed doors – unable to share their story with the outside world due to family pressures and for the fear of being judged by the community.
Speaking out against Family Violence/Abuse is like trying to get through to a mobile phone provider. Speaking out takes a sense of strength that is inconceivable, to listen takes an inconceivable sense of understanding. The ones who are brave to speak out are usually met with contempt. So is it any surprise that many suffer in silence. Who among us have not been affected by family violence/abuse? I wager not many. So perhaps we can take off our beautifully constructed masks and tell the truth and maybe then we might start Truly Listening.
When my son was little and he would be crying and his dad would be shitty I’d go for walks at 3am around the inner city. Even though it was dark it was safe – safer than being at home.
This picture was taken on a trip to Maria Island with other members of my community. Even though we have lived here a long time, many things are still new to us. I’ve been here seven years, but this island is still new to me. It’s the same with our rights and laws. Even though there are laws protecting women, we don’t always know about them
Family violence is not always ugly. It can be packaged beautifully like a mannequin. The victims have no voice, as long as they look good then they must be ok. I took this photo because I was once like the mannequin. All my hurt hidden behind an image that suited society. Like the mannequin I had no voice. My mother before me had no voice. In her generation women were told, ‘it is a sin to speak against your husband’. As a consequence, women took their secrets to their graves exposing another generation of women to abuse.
When you do not have security, it is not easy to trust. You withdraw and your world reduces considerably. What Services and the Police do not take into consideration is how this impacts on the individual and exposes them to vulnerability causing anxiety and fear. Imagine you are the person in this image. You are looking at the world behind a sheer curtain. Can you see clearly or is the curtain blurring your vision? Add to this a fear of the outside world that has been imposed on you by an abuser, who controls you with phrases like, ‘Where do you think you are going to go?’ or ‘Who do you think is going to listen to you?’ Now be honest and don’t say you would get yourself out of there because homelessness is a reality when you have no money, no contacts, no food security, your self-esteem has been totally crushed and you cannot speak the English language. Who would YOU trust?
I took this photograph when I was passing the Royal Women's Hospital for my meeting at the Red Cross. I was thinking: "Your mind games, slurs, put-downs and insults made me a shell of a person. I was broken into two pieces- one which 'you think I am' and the other which I think "I am". I doubted my existence, questioned my worth and wondered my place in this world. Then one day I asked myself, "who am I?" Out of the two shells emerged a strong, powerful and elegant woman. That is what I am".
The chained eagle with its wings in full spread represents the story of women's survival, strength, resilience and ability to rise above all odds. Women may be bruised physically and emotionally but they still have this strong soul which, with the right nurturing, makes them rise stronger and better. This Eagle standing tall with all the barbed wire at its feet, with its feathers ruffled and yet wings spread strong gives a message of hope to the community and to women to find the strength in their wings, to fly high in the face of adversity and to rise from the ashes to stand up for themselves, their children and for humanity.
Service providers associate loneliness with depression. I had no time for depression I needed to survive. For me loneliness is expressed perfectly by Kim Culbertson, ‘People think being alone makes you lonely but I don’t think that’s true. Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world.’ I remember once thinking how could I express my situation to a service provider who had limited or no cultural understanding. Things have not changed much in country areas today.
My son’s hand looks dead because when I was going through the court system I felt like I was being forced to let him go. The advocates were telling me that I had to let go. The cold hand represents how you feel walking through the system with your child. And knowing that any time my ex could decide he wants to have a crack at being a dad again, and I just have to let my son go. You are made to feel like you are making trouble and being uncooperative by not wanting them to see their kid, but it wasn’t like that. It was because I was scared.
I used to live in the housing commission high rise and lots of traumatic events happened there. When I went back to take photos I was surprised by how afraid I was and I couldn’t stop the car, so the image is blurred. The blurriness represents how I feel going back. It’s hard realising that it has been so many years, but the feelings are still there.
I once lived in a world in which women and education were not valued. Women usually had two choices marry by choice or by force (arranged marriage). The tiara worn back to front symbolises my bravery at standing strong against arranged marriage. I wore black as a symbol of duality. Black is the colour of mourning and I mourned all the lost opportunities education could offer me. But black is also the colour of graduation. I never stopped believing in the ‘Power of Knowledge’. Eventually I went back to school and got my diploma. I stand in a public library because books were once denied me. ‘Women should not be smart,’ I was told. But I would go to the library in spite of such beliefs and travel to the past to find my ancient female ancestors and have a conversation. Hypatia of Alexandria my favourite. Their spirit gave me strength, the opportunity to access knowledge and courage.
I took this photo after I came out from the social worker’s office. I just needed to focus on the view to feel some sense of peace and happiness. I know that I need to tell them what had happened so they can help but each time I relate to the incidents, it is emotionally draining. Seeing the nature's beauty is a way of forgetting lots of stuff that is going on or is about to happen. It can be overwhelming with two kids and doing everything on my own. It is also an emotional struggle to go through the system. But I guess everyone has to go through a path – whether it'd be smooth or rocky you still have to persevere and go through it taking one step at a time.
I was woken up one morning with the sound of storm and strong winds, as they battered my bedroom window. The wind was blowing and trees were violently swaying. I visualized the lives of many women who are going through family violence. The intense feeling took me to my balcony to witness the commotion. Amid all the turmoil and chaos, a golden ray of sun trickled through the trees. It was the first light – new beginning, a new day and a golden life after a storm. Among the darkness and turbulence, comes a “ray of hope.” How else I should put it except in the words of Jill Eisnaugle: “Through each moment, indecisive Is a glimpse of what can be When our rays of hope, incisive Shine their light, eternally So that we may all continue To thrive with the means to cope Regardless of life’s harshest venue Bound within our rays of hope”.
A lush green tree, strong but scarred. It reminded me of a life that had no scars to begin with but one day some ‘idiot’ came along and scarred her. Never mind, she is rejuvenating and she is healing. She will be alright. Look, she is being supported by another tree. Her scars will heal with care, compassion and love. She is going to be stronger for it. As they say ‘part of the healing process is sharing with others who care’. Of course, she will be alright.
Everyone knows my door. But the thing that worries me most is that he knows my door – he knows where I live. I tried to keep it from him but through the court process and stuff he found out. Behind my door I would like to feel safe with my family. I like the colours of my bricks because they feel very warm. Even though I don’t like living there.
He was always threatening to cut off my hair. Other people complimented me. But he always complained and put me down about it. I started seeing myself the way he wanted me to see myself. But I also really was clinging to my hair. I took this image before I cut my hair. I never wanted to sacrifice the length. Later on, once I had left, I decided to cut my hair for myself. When I cut the hair, when I let go, I felt better. I had to let it go for myself.
I took this image when I was in the city one day. The thought of homelessness really scared me. When one in a family violence situation, there would always be fear that one could end up being homeless. It can be an overwhelming stress. And when you have children with disabilities like I do, it is unthinkable. These pressures are very difficult to deal with when you’re in a bad situation. It would be easier to say you will just leave but in reality, it is very far from it.
Letting go of my pet to my husband was really hard for me. Once I was so upset and the marriage was going so badly, she just stayed there in my lap, she didn’t let me go. Dogs can have empathy, why can’t some men? This is my friend’s dog. I am sitting beside the dog to symbolise how I was treated…not even as well as a dog. With the leash I wanted to show how my husband tried to control me. I was on the same level as the dog.
Family violence is more than physical violence. There is also emotional and financial violence. In my community, everyone knows that if someone is physically violent to their wife, it’s wrong. People are not afraid to say straight away, “no, in this country we can’t hurt each other”. But these other types of violence stay hidden. No one talks about it and the women are still suffering. People don’t take action with other forms of violence, they just gossip.
What I want to show with this photograph is that children are the victims of family violence.