Bonnie’s Candlelight Vigil has been held for the last 7 years. I have been honoured to be a part of each Vigil from the beginning.

The Candlelight Vigil came about to provide a space.

A space to:

• honour the women and children who lost their lives due to domestic violence;

• create healing and solidarity among survivors, advocates, colleagues in the industry and also the public;

• raise awareness, to educate and inform the wider community of the impact that domestic violence has on individuals, families and communities;

• hope for, and reinforce, the need for change such as stronger laws, better support systems and further education around domestic violence prevention.

Anyone who has attended a Bonnie’s Candlelight Vigil has experienced how devastating it is to hear the names and ages of the victims as they are read out.

The names and ages resonate within us deeply as we begin to imagine the life lost due to an unimaginable act of violence or neglect.

The reality is it could be any one in our family, circle of friends or community….it is a startling realisation. 

There have been times as workers where one of us have been connected to one of the women that were murdered, this is deeply upsetting but there is comfort in knowing that their life is being honoured and remembered in a respectful way.   

The Vigil and the atmosphere that we create opens up candid conversations around domestic violence and how we are all able to make an impact regardless of how small.

The empathy and genuine enquiry and concern from the public is always uplifting.  

This year there has been an important change. It was decided to expand collaboration within the community sector inviting others to be part of the Vigil.

This would provide peers and colleagues the opportunity to take the time to appreciate the importance of the work, to instil hope and renewed energy to move forward regardless of disheartening statistics.  

This  also required a venue to hold more people in a more private setting. This way we could focus on the presentation, exhibitions and the individual speeches that would carry the message into the future that hope is always to be a part of us.

Coming together as a larger community also feels more powerful and as we do not work in isolation and our peers and colleagues inspire us daily to continue working with renewed vigour.   

Bonnie’s team purposely create a serene and reverent atmosphere.

Speakers are invited that emotionally elevate the Vigil with their individual voices of life experience, resilience and hope.

Poetry and prose are also carefully chosen. This year was no exception.

The Artists performed with such skill and emotionality, the energy of the room shifted, the atmosphere was tangible.

The collaboration with other services was very successful. The display of individual written messages of hope hanging from sparkling lights proved to be a beautiful meaningful part of the exhibition.    

The ethereal exhibition of personalised objects portrayed the humanness of the victims and the realisation that the normality of everyday life that we take for granted had been stolen from them prematurely.     

The candlelight ceremony is where every life lost is honoured. This is always very moving and always feels like a sacred process.

The minutes silence is also very powerful.

The feedback from the Vigil has been very positive and encouraging. It has inspired the team to continue to work together creatively as a community within the Sector.

I truly hope that the statistics change and that as workers, we will continue to work with passion, renewed energy and aspiration for the future.

Thank you to everyone who participated and collaborated with Bonnie’s in the Vigil.

You inspired us all.   

Alison D