In this era of bureaucracy and red tape, it’s hard to imagine the grassroots evolution of Sydney’s first domestic violence refuge being replicated.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the refuge’s opening, one of the leaders of Australia’s women’s movement reminisced with reporter Mary Ward about how the facility was established.
Dr Anne Summers recalled taking a walk through Glebe after hearing that there were vacant houses which could provide a location for a refuge after months spent fruitlessly seeking one.
“I noticed this house on Westmoreland Street. I looked into the windows and went around the back and it looked usable. But best of all, it had a woman’s name: Elsie,” she says.
Elsie Women’s Refuge in Glebe.Credit: National Archives of Australia
From there a group of feminist squatters moved into the property, took donations of food and furniture and began providing a place for women and children escaping domestic and family violence.
The anniversary of Elsie’s this week and the observation of International Women’s Day on March 8 provide an opportunity to mark and measure the progress of the women’s movement in tackling violence against women.
When Elsie Women’s Refuge began operating, defining domestic violence was embryonic, as our story records. The question half a century later is whether we have made significant inroads in addressing the issue.
Data collated by Domestic Violence NSW show that there is still much that needs to be addressed when it comes to gendered violence.
A staggering one in three, or 30.5 per cent of women, have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, one in five have experienced sexual violence, and one in three have experienced that physical or sexual violence perpetrated by a man since the age of 15, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Anniversary shows that housing an enduring problem
8
0
09.03.2024
In this era of bureaucracy and red tape, it’s hard to imagine the grassroots evolution of Sydney’s first domestic violence refuge being replicated.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the refuge’s opening, one of the leaders of Australia’s women’s movement reminisced with reporter Mary Ward about how the facility was established.
Dr Anne Summers recalled taking a walk through Glebe after hearing that there were vacant houses which could provide a........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Nikkei Editorial
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
