Bonnie Support Services

Bonnie Support Services
October 10, 2019

Acknowledgement of Country

It came as a surprise to me, that my four-year-old came home the other day from her childcare, performing an acknowledgement of country. She proudly recited the words off by heart. She then proceeded to tell me that they acknowledge country every day at her childcare. It gives me hope to hear some of our […]

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September 26, 2019

Meet Katrina Ironside

Bonnie’s new partnership with the Women’s Legal Service comes after 5 years of wrangling to find the resources to make it happen. It means that we are now lucky enough to have weekly visits from one of their feisty and fabulous lawyers, Katrina Ironside. Katrina comes every Thursday to Bonnies to support our clients and […]

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September 19, 2019

SHEroes

Recently, I started thinking about the female characters that I was exposed to while growing up during the 1980’s and 90’s. At school, we studied books by George Orwell (1984), Aldous Huxley (Brave New World), William Golding (Lord of the flies) and lots and lots of Shakespeare. I don’t remember a single female novelist on […]

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September 5, 2019

The right to choose

In the 1970’s, 80 women declared themselves criminals due to having had abortions.  Courageously, they took an ad out in a national newspaper, denouncing themselves and calling for abortion to be made legal. Now 50 years on, it’s still classified as illegal to have an abortion in NSW and women (and men) continue to campaign […]

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August 22, 2019

Culture change

Most of us who work combating domestic violence, or are simply concerned about domestic violence will know that culture change is at the heart of making a significant impact in combating domestic violence. This means changing how boys view girls and how girls view girls. It means changing how parents and other adults relate to […]

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August 16, 2019

Boys will be boys – No more

“It was as if liking girl characters made me a joke” says Damian Alexander in the Boredpanda article called ‘Guy Illustrates How Boys Develop Sexism From Seemingly Small Interactions With Adults’. As I read the article and browsed Damian’s comics, I found myself reflecting on a family experience that occurred not that long ago. My 4-year-old […]

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July 31, 2019

Five women to be inspired by

There are so many wonderful, strong, passionate and courageous women out there. However, we don’t often get to hear about how they’re making strides to change our world. Here’s a snapshot of five women who are doing just that, each in their own way. Inspire away. Jameela Jamil  Jameela is an actress, presenter, activist and […]

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July 24, 2019

Menstrual activism – 2 part series

This is the second edition in a two-part series. Click here to read the first edition. THE CUP EFFECT (UK, KENYA & MALAWI) The Cup Effect is an organisation raising awareness about the benefits of menstrual cups through CupAware parties in partnership with Bloody Good Period. The parties, mimicking  Tupperware parties, are get-togethers individuals can attend or host, to […]

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July 17, 2019

Menstrual activism – 2 part series

A new wave of period activism is a-flowin’ (ha) around the world. High on the agenda is tackling period poverty to support the millions of people around the world who can not afford menstrual supplies, promoting sustainable alternatives like reusable menstrual cups in the face of climate change and campaigning for greater awareness of periods […]

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July 10, 2019

Learning one stitch at a time

I’ve always been taught to be busy. The busier you are, the more productive you are; it’s almost like a status symbol of worth. In my job as a legal secretary, time is measured in six-minute increments, with lawyers billing their rates every six minutes. There is no time to be idle. Every six minutes […]

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July 4, 2019

My favourite day so far

Amanda, manager of Liverpool Women’s Health Centre A few weeks ago, the team at Bonnie’s were asked if they would like to organise something for National Reconciliation Week. I had an idea of asking an Aboriginal elder from our local area to take us on a walk and teach us about the local flora and […]

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June 24, 2019

Stepping into another worker’s shoes

I recently had the opportunity to accompany Bianca, one of our tenancy workers, to the Tenancy Tribunal. A client had accumulated substantial rental arrears and was refusing to engage with Bonnie’s. On the way over, I discovered that the client was someone with whom I had formed a good connection. I had completed the intake […]

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