Tyler Redway
TWO local women will embark on a 24 km walk from Badenoch’s Deli to Port MacDonnell in hopes to raise awareness for people suffering from domestic violence.
Katherine van den Hoogen decided to take a stand in order to try and break the stigma and fear of speaking out against domestic abuse after her own experiences as a domestic violence survivor.
Ms van den Hoogen said the event, dubbed Our Walk To Remember, was to remember the lives which had been lost and the people who were currently experiencing or had already been through domestic violence and “came out stronger”.
“I am a survivor of domestic violence myself and I turned to Trudi and Four Reasons Why for support because I was in a really bad situation,” Ms van den Hoogen said.
“I just want to get the word out there that Four Reasons Why are there and are an awesome bunch of people and you can get through the hard days.
“There is a lot of support for everyone out there, for both men and women who go through it.”
Ms van den Hoogen’s close friend and work colleague Alyce Vaughan also wanted to be a part of the cause and said she had known others who had gone through similar experiences.
“I think it’s time people started talking about it and forget about the shame some of the victims may feel,” Ms Vaughan said.
“A lot of the time in these situations it’s not just the victim, it’s also children and parents of the victim who might not be able to change what’s happening.
“It’s like a metaphor as well in the sense that it’s one foot in front of the other to take one step at a time through anything.”
Ms van den Hoogen has set a target of $5000 to be given to Four Reasons Why so they could continue to offer the same support she received.
“People need to know it is real, especially against men but it isn’t spoken about as much, I want to get the word out there that it is definitely both men and women,” she said.
“Walking also got me through a lot of dark days and the furthest I have ever gone is 18km.”
Four Reasons Why founder Trudi Shelton said the event was about empowering people with the knowledge of how to get help and where to get it from.
“It’s important to note that domestic violence isn’t just happening in the homes of people in a low socio-economic area, there are a lot of wealthy families where there is partner or spouse abuse,” Ms Shelton said.
“I think there is a bit of a stigma around that but it’s not the case, it’s all walks of life.”
Ms Shelton said the public was not able to participate in the main walk due to safety, but encouraged people to show their support by either being at the start, finish or one of the four pit stops during the walk.
“We have had people express interest in wanting to join, so people can do so for the last hundred metres to finish it off with Katherine and Alyce,” she said.
Ms van den Hoogen said she was already planning to do the event again next year for the Railway Lands trail, which she said would allow more people to participate and show support.
Katherine and Alyce’s Our Walk To Remember will kick off from Badenoch’s Deli on June 3 with a barbecue and drinks which will be provided on the day.
