The news site of the Anglican Church Southern Queensland: nourishing and connecting our faith community

Domestic abuse

Saturday July 27

Anglican Church Southern Queensland the first faith organisation to pledge “Not Now, Not Ever. Together”

The Anglican Church Southern Queensland is the first faith organisation to take a state-wide pledge demonstrating their commitment to preventing domestic and family violence at Synod, joining dozens of other organisations in the prominent cross-sector campaign

Addressing Church stereotypes, silence, blaming and lack of recognition

“Jan’s grief around her marriage ‘being broken’ and her beliefs that she had ‘betrayed’ her marriage vows and ‘broken her promises’ to God were profoundly influential in her initial inability to accept the priest’s help offered to her. These beliefs were grounded in what some parts of the Church espoused regarding the role of the Church, the Bible, the ‘sanctity of marriage’ and family,” says The Ven. Dr Lucy Morris, Chair of the ACSQ’s Domestic and Family Violence Working Group

Jenny Clark (ACSQ Domestic and Family Violence Project Officer) and The Ven. Dr Lucy Morris (ACSQ Domestic and Family Violence Working Group Chair) outside St John’s Cathedral in 2023

Making the invisible visible

“Domestic and family violence remains a difficult issue for many in the Church. It’s an uncomfortable concept that is incongruous for those who value peace, love and care. And because of this we can develop a blind spot to this issue within our own families, workplaces, social networks, and indeed in our church communities,” says new Domestic and Family Violence Working Group chair The Ven. Dr Lucy Morris

ACSQ Domestic and Family Violence Working Group welcomes legislative reforms to strengthen Queensland’s response to coercive control

The ACSQ’s Domestic and Family Violence Working Group has welcomed the first round of legislative reforms to strengthen Queensland’s response to coercive control, which were introduced into Parliament on Friday

“Let’s acknowledge the good news that domestic and family violence is preventable”

“My involvement in the domestic and family violence space began when my sister, Allison Baden-Clay, was murdered by her husband in April 2012. Her story shocked and gripped the nation. It resonated with people in the community and was in the media almost daily for months. At the time my family wondered why there was so much interest in Allison’s story,” says Vanessa Fowler OAM from St Paul’s, Ipswich and the ACSQ Domestic and Family Violence Working Group