Launch of "You are Not Alone" Domestic Violence video

Murray Bridge High School was excited to attend the official launch of the “You are Not Alone’ Domestic Violence video clip on Tuesday 22nd September which was organised by the Domestic Violence Awareness group. This group is run by voluntary local community members led by Shawn Hicks and Duncan Emmins is our school representative.  The group aims to create awareness and educate all people within our community to help reduce all forms of domestic violence in the Murraylands.

Murray Bridge High School endorses and supports the vision and message the Domestic Violence Awareness group is delivering throughout our local community. We encourage you to watch and share the following videos with your friends and family. We will find an appropriate time to share these videos with our students next term. An extended version of this email will be posted on our social media platforms and in our next Newsletter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKeFr9uai7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzTjwwMr_pQ

A Book titled “A Right to be Heard” was also presented as a great resource for anyone who is currently dealing with domestic violence, or would like to know more about it. The book was written by local organisations for local people of the Murray Mallee Region.

Students present at the launch- They were awesome!
We were privileged to be asked to present at the launch and are extremely proud of Jazmin Catanzariti (Year 9) and Shakira Ayunon (Year 12) and past student Ebony Von Rochow who presented at the launch.

Congratulations to Jazmin Catanzariti who confidently presented her winning entry for the whole school writing competition. Jazmin spoke about how Domestic Violence effects our community and what can we do to change it.

Jazmin wrote “Domestic Violence is most likely a big problem in a lot of people’s lives in our community. These people are our friends, classmates, adult figures or complete strangers, and most people in these situations don’t tell anyone, because of their fear of more mistreatment, neglect and judgement. This leaves even their closest friends and family oblivious to their situation and problems. Because of this, domestic violence not only effects people physically, but also mentally and socially, making them feel trapped and unsafe. They might start to distance themselves from family and friends, and lower their standards, self-esteem and self-worth. We need to change the effects of domestic violence, starting with being aware of if someone you know could be dealing with this problem so we can offer support and help, to get them out of a situation where they feel helpless and worthless. For people to be aware of possible domestic violence situations, more education on how to help their friends and family and on things like mental health and self-esteem are crucial, especially in younger kid’s, in the hopes of teaching them that no one deserves to be abused and to also teach people that it is not ok to abuse others.” (Jazmin Cantanzariti, Year 9 2020).

Tiyana Gibson’s (Year 11) wrote a very telling perspective on domestic violence in Murray Bridge. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend so Shakira Ayunon (Year 12) volunteered to present and spoke with poise. Shakira was inspired to assist through her recent domestic violence focused unit studied in Physical Education.

Ebony Von Rochow (past student) spoke about her personal battles with Domestic Violence during school and how she is now driven to make a difference in our local community. Ebony is currently completing a TafeSA course which will help her gain employment working for organisations such as Centacare, Ac-Care and Headspace. Ebony has a strong passion in helping children learn and understand more about domestic violence in our community. Ebony would like to become more involved in this important initiative in the near future.