Growing up in a “family of teachers” in Adelaide, social justice was at the dinner table for Dr Hannah Tonkin, the first New South Wales Women’s Safety Commissioner.
“Most of my family members are school teachers in the public system,” she told Mamamia. “Both my parents and many, many other family members.
“My grandmother was also extremely active in various areas of social justice, including in a local women’s shelter, and I would talk a lot about these issues with her.”
Watch: Each week, at least 1 woman is killed by a partner or an ex. Post continues after video.
It was these conversations at home that inspired Dr Tonkin’s unbridled passion for helping others.
“Certainly in terms of values and understanding disadvantage, that was something we talked about from a young age,” she said. “My family has always been very focused on social justice and equality, and I guess that's what motivated me going forward.”
A passion for driving ‘meaningful change’
Since graduating from the University of Adelaide, Dr Tonkin has dedicated her career to international law and human rights, stretching all the way to the United Nations and international criminal tribunals around the world.
“I worked for many years on war crimes prosecutions, focusing in particular on crimes of sexual violence against women in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and the former Yugoslavia.” she said. “Then from there, I went on to work for a number of years elsewhere in the UN on more general humanitarian policy and operations in ongoing conflict situations.”
By 2021, Dr Tonkin was back in Australia, working as a barrister in Adelaide. But she was hungry for a role that would give her an opportunity to contribute to meaningful change in terms of policy development, leadership, and social justice.
So she put herself forward as the first NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner.
“In all of my work, in my whole career, I’ve always had a focus on the rights of women and girls,” she said. “These have been particular areas of passion and interest for me, and so I thought this was a fantastic opportunity to contribute to meaningful change, to address violence against women, which is something I care deeply about.”
Giving a voice to victims of violence
It’s been almost three months since Dr Tonkin took on the top job – which involves providing leadership and oversight to the state government and working with the non-government, private sector, and broader community – and her passion for the role hasn’t wavered.
“I’m committed to elevating the voices of victim-survivors, particularly those who don’t currently have a voice,” she told Mamamia. “So, I've prioritised hearing directly from victim-survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence, including those with disabilities, First Nations women, and refugee and migrant women, and trying to understand their concerns.
“I hope that I'm able to reach them and incorporate their perspectives into my work as Commissioner but more broadly, into government policies and programs.”
On top of her list of priorities is to strengthen efforts to prevent domestic, family and sexual violence before it occurs.
“This will be one of my main goals throughout my term as commissioner,” she said. “It’s a long-term goal – it’s not going to happen overnight – because that really requires us to address community attitudes towards women and girls.
“Violence against women starts with disrespectful behaviour, and that’s why we must work on educating young people to really encourage respectful relationships and a greater understanding of informed consent.”
And she says we’ve all got a part to play in improving community attitudes.
“We can call out sexist comments, we can role model respectful behaviours and respectful relationships to our own children, and we can stand up as leaders in our community to speak out against disrespectful behavior and promote gender equality,” she explained. “All of these things will help to reduce violence against women in the long term.”
‘It’s upsetting – but I need to hear their stories’
For the one woman killed in Australia each week by a current or former intimate partner, Dr Tonkin is well aware of the weight of responsibility as the first-ever Women’s Safety Commissioner in NSW.
Listen to Mia Freedman discuss abusive relationships on No Filter. Post continues after podcast.
For the one in four Australian women who have experienced violence by a current or former intimate partner, with the majority having children in their care at the time, Dr Tonkin knows how important the establishment of her new role is.
“I think it shows that these issues are really being taken seriously, and that’s a huge step to shine the spotlight on the issue of violence against women,” she said. “And it’s not only in NSW, there’s also a Federal Commissioner that has been created, so these conversations and this political attention is happening all over the country.”
“That's crucial because we've seen the shocking levels of violence against women. Not only in New South Wales but all around Australia.”
But beyond the statistics are the real-life stories that Dr Tonkin hears from victims each day. A responsibility that she doesn’t shy away from.
“It’s very upsetting to hear some of these stories, and it does and it should affect you,” she said. “But I never want to have a day where I'm not hearing these stories because I think it's important to maintain that level of care and empathy.”
Otherwise, she said, there's no point doing the job.
“It's important to me to really listen and try to understand their stories and their perspectives,” Dr Tonkin explained. “It's also important to then step back and reflect and think about what changes can be made to the system to address these problems, to take that next step and look at it more broadly. And think about how I can actually contribute to meaningful change.”
Victims remembered at candlelight vigils
This Wednesday, candlelight vigils will light up across Australia as supporters gather to remember those who lost their lives to domestic and family violence. Among them, Dr Tonkin will be attending a DV Remembrance Day in Sydney as part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Later this week, she’ll travel to Wollongong for the National Domestic Violence Conference.
“That will bring together experts from all over Australia – including Rosie Batty, the former Australian of the Year – and that’s focused specifically on healing and recovery of victim survivors,” she said. “And that’s a really important aspect that often doesn’t get enough attention.”
For Dr Tonkin, she’s well aware that there’s a long way to go. Her journey has just started. But she’s determined to make a change, and there’s no holding her back.
Image: NSW Government + Getty.