anglican focus

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

Domestic violence

Justice & Advocacy Two women sitting inside on couches Justice & Advocacy

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

Justice & Advocacy 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 Justice & Advocacy

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 Project Officer Jenny Clark and Bishop Cam Venables, who is currently serving as Acting Chair of the ACSQ Domestic and Family Violence Working Group, discussing resources in St Martin's House after their completion of an online Ridley College course (May 2023)
Justice & Advocacy

Ridley College DFV education and training course reflections

May is Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month in Queensland. Several ACSQ clergy and lay leaders recently completed a free self-paced online Ridley College course on domestic and family violence education and effective responding. Three participants share their course reflections, including Bishop Cam Venables, Carole Danby and Jenny Clark
Features

“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

Reflections

St John’s Crisis Centre: “It all happens inside the church”

“It all happens inside the church on Hamilton Avenue in Surfers Paradise…People are fed in the church. Emergency relief interviews are held in the church. It’s God’s house, so the church is the best place for people to be cared for. I think Jesus would love the fact that His house is being used to help His people in need every day,” says General Manager of St John’s Crisis Centre, Dianne Kozik

Features

Joint Churches Domestic Violence Prevention Project: updated resource

“The Church is in a unique position of being able to offer practical, emotional and spiritual help to all who are impacted by DFV, from initial contact right through to the ongoing emotional and spiritual support often required long term by victims and reforming perpetrators, when the need for more specialised and emergency assistance has either passed or run its course,” says Chair of JCDVPP Felicity Bailey

Features

The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller

“We are an ecumenical Order, enjoying the company of mainly Anglican, Roman Catholic, Uniting Church and Lutheran members. The Order came to Australia in 1969…There is a strong Anglican presence locally,” says Charles Clark from Holy Trinity, Fortitude Valley and The Order of Saint John

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