On 28 August, 300 clergy from the Sydney archdiocese gathered at Waterview in Bicentennial Park for a vital conference dedicated to safeguarding families from domestic violence.
The gathering heard sobering realities faced by victims and learned how faith communities can respond with compassion, vigilance, and action.
“Clergy are our first responders. They are on the front line,” said Jennifer Orre, Director of the Office of Safeguarding and Ministerial Integrity Office.
“It’s really important to arm them with the knowledge around what domestic violence (DV) looks like, places that they can refer people to and how to respond.”
Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP attended the conference and said it was important for clergy to understand DV from all angles to help stem the epidemic of violence, not just combat it.
“We as pastors weigh great influences of people’s values and their behaviour, so we can be part of the solution, not just there with the Band-Aids when someone’s hurting,” he said.
“Today is a very practical day, so we’re going to go away with a lot of ideas about what we could do to improve this situation. What we could do for people with red flags in our congregation, and how you would intervene, how you would assist them in that situation,” he said.
The first speaker, Misha Monsted of the Integrated Violence Prevention and Response Service within NSW Health, was on hand to inform clergy about what family domestic violence looked like and what tactics can be used in helping victims of abusive behaviour.
Vicar General of the Sydney Archdiocese Fr Sam Lynch found the information illuminating saying: “You encounter people in these situations in your pastoral ministry all the time,” he said.
“In order to be able to help people and to try to be part of the solution rather than the problem in our society, you just need to be educated.”
Senior Sgt Adam Wood, a legal consultant within the Domestic and Family Violence Command in the NSW Police Force, revealed a sobering statistic: Every three minutes police respond to a DFV incident.
He offered a powerful reflection when he said, “We can’t arrest our way out of this issue”. This speaks to the need for a whole community response to domestic violence.
He pointed to a powerful tool at the clergy’s disposal – a domestic violence app called ‘Empower’, which enables both clergy and victim survivors to have an instant tool on their phone to assist when needed.
“This helps us to be armed, to be ready,” said Fr John Knight from St Andrew’s in Malabar.
“To be able to, to reach out to those who are in need, to be seen, that we are empathetic and we have the way in which we can help those who have been affected by this scourge.”
Representatives from NSW Legal Aid, Pia Birac and Amelia Pace helped broaden the understanding of DV and its victims, running through case studies involving migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds and those living in a violent family environment in regional communities.
Kathryn McKenzie, Director or Operations from the Ageing and Disability Commission, spoke about responding to abuse and neglect and exploitation of older people and adults with disability, receiving nearly 6000 reports about alleged abuse of aged and disabled, most featuring women.
Dr Hannah Tonkin, NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner in a discussion with Monica Doumit, Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Archdiocese of Sydney explored why the conference was important, because there was “potential for huge positive impact. It can be lifesaving.”
She added leaders can help prevent this type of abuse through their sermons, promoting dignity and having a critical role in prevention.
Former Judge, the Honorary Jennifer Boland from the Independent Safeguarding Advisory Panel has herself been on the frontline of domestic abuse and emphasised that for the clergy “knowledge is empowerment.
“And having knowledge and where to go has to be at the absolute forefront of pastoral care. And I believe that this conference today did just that.”
