A new chapter for domestic violence survivors

The Rotary Club of Brookfield, Qld, has been an avid supporter of the charity Broken to Brilliant over the years. The organisation assists domestic abuse survivors on the road to recovery.

The Rotary Club of Brookfield was honoured to be invited to write a testimonial for Coerced to Courageous, the fourth book in a series by Broken to Brilliant, following on from Broken to Brilliant, Terror to Triumph and Shattered to Shining. The club has also been asked to help Broken to Brilliant identify clubs nationwide that can further support its programs through purchasing books for each club’s respective local domestic violence shelters.

The inspirational books are written by survivors, and thus serve as a pillar of hope for those in a phase of despair and hopelessness.

This latest book in the series, launched in Brisbane on March 19, focuses on 10 coercive control survivors who take back their power and share how they did it. These brave, resilient women share the tools that helped them escape and rebuild their lives.

Broken to Brilliant aims to create a community of connection, support and mentorship among Australian domestic violence survivors.

“The book provides hope to people at every step of their journey,” said Broken to Brilliant founder Kate Smith, who is a DV survivor herself.

“The importance of giving survivors a voice cannot be overstated, especially when so many people have been shamed and silenced through coercive control and abuse over many years.”

“The latest book in the series focuses on 10 coercive control survivors who take back their power and share how they did it. These brave, resilient women share the tools that helped them escape and rebuild their lives.”

“Coercive control can and often does include actual intimidation – threatening physical violence – but doesn’t have to be physically violent; and the perpetrators of it were sheltered from exposure and accountability,” Ex-Police Commissioner and charity patron Bob Atkinson explained.

“Coercive control is now being exposed in all its dark forms, and the work of Broken to Brilliant, including this latest publication, is an important step in that journey.”

“This is a resource that will most definitely provide comfort and hope to those who need it, as well as awareness of the real crisis that coercive control presents for so many of those around us,” said Travis Luk, Special Counsel for law firm Clyde & Co, a Pro Bono Partner of Broken to Brilliant.

The strategic goal now for the charity is to place their books in every domestic violence refuge or shelter across Australia. To support this mission, a request now goes out to every Rotary club in Australia to help identify and support a local refuge by purchasing books and placing one on every bed to offer hope to survivors in their communities.

Each book costs $29.95 as part of the ‘Give a Book’ for a refuge bed program.

Broken to Brilliant receives inquiries from refuges across Australia, with requests most recently from refuges in Gladstone and Toowoomba in Queensland, and Narrabri in New South Wales.

Ideally, books need to be restocked quarterly, as survivors often request to take the books with them when they leave. Many survivors are mandated to move out after 12 weeks. New arrivals are therefore often deprived of this constructive reading material.

Broken to Brilliant balances this invisible positive force along with practical and multi-disciplinary programs, such as advice on financial literacy, and ensuring survivors are aware of the programs available to support them.

As the Rotary Club of Brookfield can testify, working with a local refuge cements a binding relationship and the benefits have a flow-on effect in the community. The club encourages Rotary clubs nationwide to take up the call to arms.

Support Broken to Brilliant: Find out more by visiting www.brokentobrilliant.org. For donations and general inquiries, contact Giles Tilley of the Rotary Club of Brookfield on 0431 162 315.