For the first time ever, women have been awarded the top honour in all four categories of the Australian of the Year Awards; Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year, Senior Australian of the Year and Australia’s Local Hero.
Rosie Batty has been named Australian of the Year 2015, bringing much deserved recognition to her work to raise the profile of family and intimate partner violence after the tragic loss of her son Luke in February last year.
Rosie Batty appearing on Studio 10 last year.
Luke Batty was killed by his father in a very public assault. He was just 11 years old.
Today Rosie, from Tyabb in Victoria, is being recognised for giving a voice to many thousands of survivors of family violence.
In an interview on Studio 10 late last year, Rosie told host Joe Hildebrand that she was “living in hope that because of Luke’s tragic death it would bring a huge awareness to family violence.”
Rosie also opened the way for public dialogue about domestic violence from the perspective of a survivor, a perspective that she stressed is not often easily comprehended:
Greg had finally lost control of me and the final act of control, which was the most hideous form of violence, was to kill my son. So don’t you ever think that if we don’t report it’s because we don’t want to. It’s because we are so scared about what might happen.
Luke Batty died in February last year.
As Australian of the Year, Rosie is being honoured for using her tragic story as a call-to-action for others who desperately need help, support and a strong voice.
61-year-old Jackie French was awarded Senior Australian of the year for her advocacy work on children’s literacy. As a best-selling children’s book author who has overcome dyslexia herself, Jackie is especially passionate about sharing the power of reading and literacy for children with learning difficulties.
Jackie French.
The Young Australian of the Year Award went to 21-year-old Drisana Levitzke-Gray of Balga, Western Australia. As the fifth-generation in her family to be born deaf, Drisana is promoting diversity and awareness of the concept of “deaf gain” rather than “hearing loss”. Drisana is also dedicated to helping other deaf people and advocating for their human rights.
Drisana Levitzke-Gray.
Juliette Wright is being honoured as Australia’s Local Hero for her work as a charity founder and her efforts to alleviate poverty in Australia by assisting vulnerable and marginalised people. The 41-year-old Queenslander is the founder and CEO of GIVIT, an online platform to get quality goods to those most in need. GIVIT became the government’s official website for matching donors and recipients during the 2011 Queensland floods.
The Chairman of the National Australia Day Council, Ben Roberts-Smith described the four award recipients as “great ambassadors” for Australia.
“It is a great moment in the 55 year history of these Awards to honour four women. Rosie, Jackie, Drisana and Juliette remind us of the many ways in which women contribute to our nation – that women are a force for change, a voice for rights, influencers, educators and the heart of our communities,” he said.
Top Comments
Ah, internalised sexism and victim blaming. Two of the great staples of the Mamamia comment section.
Before I start, do not pretend you think I am talking about all men. If you are not a murderer or an abuser, this does not apply to you, as you are aware.
There are many possible underlying issues here.
Men who have been abused as kids growing up to become abusers.
Men being encouraged by our systemically sexist society to believe women and children are their property.
Men not being properly punished by our systemically sexist court system. (Cue squeals about pet peeve of choice including anecdotes which prove nothing).
Women's complaints and terror not being sufficiently addressed.
Women taking out DVOs which are then ignored and no action taken by police.
Women being told they MUST allow abusive men access to their children and not being allowed to flee interstate.
Some men being psychopaths who only want to harm the women who have dared escape from them and know that the best way to do that is to slaughter the child they love.
But one thing is for sure. NOBODY is to blame for the boy's death except the cowardly murderer who chose to kill him. His own father.
We need more murderer blaming. We need no more victim blaming of any kind. Every single time you victim blame you deflect from the real problem and you give another murderer someone to blame but themselves and another court an excuse not to lock dangerous criminals away for decades, which is what we all have a right to expect.
We know that in society when a crime is actually condemned it dies out and only the most hardened criminals continue to indulge in it. Society does NOT condemn domestic violence or predatory attackers of women and children. Just look at these comments for proof. When men as a class are raised from the cradle onwards to understand that they have no rights over women and children, that they do not own anyone, that nobody belongs to them we will see a cultural shift.
How strange that violent predators like this almost never lose the plot on big, strong men, but only on those much weaker than them. How odd they almost always ensure that when they attack, nobody nearby is armed or able to stop them. How often do you see these men who "cannot control themselves" lose the plot in the coffee shop, or at the mall? Only the ones with serious mental health issues do so and they are few and far between.
Why it's almost as though they were exercising the choice of the cunning predator to stalk its prey and attack when it is weak and defenceless. It's almost as if they weighed up the harm and sorrow they could cause and reckoned a few years in prison was worth it.
This man is a murderer. This child was his ultimate victim. And this woman is a victim too.
If you don't get that, you are a big part of the problem.
Agreed. There is some shocking victim blaming going on below - it's quite the eye opener:
'Playing the victim'
'A woman who did not do enough to protect her child.'
'She had a child with a co-worker who she knew had mental health issues..'
'She let him have access to their child.'
'What is her responsibility in all this for her son's life.'
And most incredibly:
'We give geriatric mothers awards for putting their children in danger'
Rosie is also a survivor who is on a mission to minimise family violence we should all stand shoulder to shoulder with her and help her achieve her goals. She did not kill or hurt her child. The childs father did that. As I have posted many times in relation to this case if in fact the police computer systems were working properly allowing information to be processed in real time he may have been incarcerated. Maybe if the mental health care system was working properly he could have been placed in supervised care. Rosie is using her voice to highlight that all these things are part of the consideration in reducing family violence. Yes of course the law must be enforced on anyone who hurts another family member and removing the "domesticity" tag empowers the police to act on such assaults as a straight out criminal act and charge perpetrators accordingly. The retiring Victorian Police Commissioner Ken Lay has also been integral in this change. Victoria loses a really good man and a great Commissioner.
Rosie Batty is a worthy Australian of the year.
I think Rosie Batty is a worthy recipient of this award. She has risen above possibly the most horrific tragedy a parent could go through (the loss of a child), not to mention the abuse that she also endured herself, and has made it her mission to ensure her son did not die in vain. Women and child die every week at the hands of domestic violence. I can't name another woman/mother who has worked so tirelessly to ensure that victims have a voice and domestic violence comes to an end. Well done Rosie. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be you and to have gone through what you have, but you have done this country a huge service in speaking out against violence against women and children.