Rosie Batty AO, 2015 Australian of the Year, will address the National Press Club of Australia in partnership with Our Watch, on the topic “Ten years after the murder of my son, and amid a national domestic violence crisis, how do we maintain hope that violence against women can be stopped?”
Rosie Batty rose to prominence when her 11-year-old son Luke was murdered by his father in 2014. Rosie began speaking publicly about her experience after addressing the media the morning after Luke's murder, becoming an advocate for domestic violence survivors and victims, for addressing the systemic failures in responses to domestic violence in Australia, and for stopping this violence from occurring in the first place.
Nine years ago, and a year after her son’s murder, Rosie Batty, together with national violence prevention organisation Our Watch, staged her first National Press Club address. Rosie spoke powerfully of her relationship with the media, signalling a significant shift in how domestic violence came to be reported, and highlighting the shocking prevalence of intimate partner violence.
Nine years later, what's changed? When one woman every nine days is still being murdered by a current or former partner and it feels like progress is slow, how can we maintain the momentum needed to end violence against women and their children?
Rosie will seek to examine what’s changed in the crisis of violence against women, and the link between violence prevention, media reporting and hope. Drawing on examples from her last decade as an advocate for ending family violence that are featured in her new book, “Hope”, Rosie will offer a heartfelt and personal account of the importance of maintaining hope in creating generational change.
Bio:
Rosie Batty is a British-Australian family violence prevention campaigner and speaker. After her 11-year-old son, Luke, was killed by his father in a violent incident in February 2014, Rosie became a passionate campaigner on the issue of family violence. She won the Pride of Australia Award in 2014 and was named Australian of the Year in January 2015. Her first memoir, A Mother’s Story, was published in 2016. Her second book, Hope, will be released on 3 April 2024.
