We are currently fundraising for our healing centre, below is the appeal by our founder daizy on 7/09/2020

Update* together in 5 days, we have $11 458 in pledges – thank you!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. You may not know this about me but only recently have i had the courage to speak up. When i was younger (14-19) i was physically and emotionally abused by members of my family. It was a really hard time, i eventually saved up enough money to run away from home (i normally say i moved out, but really i did indeed escape). By the age of 22 i had worked 17 jobs and 14 volunteer roles and lived in 9 different houses over 4 years.
So fast forward to now i’m 26 and feel i’ve finally had the time and space to pause and reflect. I have had the privilege of a stable job which has afforded me mental time and space for the healing process.
I now want to focus on other young punjabi / south asian women in our community. Many women have shared their heart-breaking stories of abuse with me from within our community and i can no longer do nothing. I know these women are unlikely to ever reach out to the existing services. 100+ women told me if they had financial independence would they make decisions that honoured their self worth. Existing services are confusing, slow and not culturally appropriate. You see it took me many years to even realise i didn’t deserve what happened to me, deep down i thought i deserved what happened to me because of who i was.

The reason i rarely talk about statistics in domestic violence / mental health isn’t that i don’t know the numbers. It’s because i know you’ve heard them so many times. Charities and government have poured millions into awareness campaigns. We all know how widespread this problem is.

But we carefully avoid talking about it with nuance because we don’t know what we can do. I’m focused on solutions. Solutions based on a lived experience and based on talking to 100’s of other women from a south asian background. I’ve first-hand heard heart-breaking stories of young women who have almost been killed at the hands of their own family members. Solutions because i’m tired of what the current system offers immigrant women.

We have been told “but this is an issue for all women”, yes that’s true. No one person’s pain or suffering is comparable, but we must acknowledge the disproportionate number of south asian / immigrant women who face abuse in their homes.

“Domestic violence is a private matter to be handled in the family” is almost 2.5 times more likely to be considered a plausible reason for domestic violence/abuse by immigrant women (13% for australian born vs 31% for immigrants). Immigrant women are 3 times more likely to agree with the statement that “it’s a woman’s duty to stay in a violent relationship to keep the family together” (6% australian born v 19% immigrant) – vichealth

During covid many young women are home (usually they might move out with the excuse of university or a job). I know that many are being abused by partners/family members and do not yet have the financial capacity to move out.

I am now seeking to your financial support to create a safe environment for the most vulnerable women in our community, those whose voices have been silenced for too long. Those who have been told family honour is worth more than their pain and suffering. Those who could be phenomenal conscious leaders but have no space to heal from their wounds of cultural oppression by the very people who are meant to protect them. We will indeed do this work through the australian south asian centre however as it is very grassroots we are partnering with an existing not-for-profit.

We have identified a wonderful property that will provide a healing environment for up to 20 young indian women. To make this a reality we need to raise $54600 to cover the cost for one year. Through our partnership with a not-for-profit we are able to provide you a tax deductable receipt.

If 174 generous people give $20 per month over one year this gives a healing environment for 16 women. That’s a one off payment of $240. In other words it’s less than the cost of an annual spotify & netflix subscription (one month for one woman is $866).

You can pledge here (no card needed) I personally will stay on the premise to help them through their journey and we also have a nutritionist who is caretaker of the property and has volunteered to run weekly sessions for the girls. I will also volunteer to teach the women about freelancing so they can start earning money online and through our partnership with money girl they will learn about how to manage money.

If you know me, i’m frugal and resourceful when it comes to money. So i hope you can entrust me with your generous donation to create this space so we can put a stop to this intergenerational trauma.

I thank you for your time and if you have any questions you can contact me.

Regards,
Daizy maan

IF YOU ARE A WOMAN WHO IS INTERESTED IN BECOMING A RESIDENT OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS IN A TOXIC HOME IN OUR COMMUNITY- LET US KNOW HERE.