We, the comrades of Unit 1012:
The VFFDP, wishes Luke Batty a happy 13th birthday, he was born on 20
June 2002. We will remember him every year on that date and also on 12 February. Let us remember how he lived on this earth and we also congratulate
his mother, Rosie Batty for winning the 2015 Australian of the Year award. We
offer her our condolences as it is one of our policies to remember the victim
and their families. We will always support his mother, Rosie Batty and his
loved ones.
We will
also endorse The Luke Batty Foundation. Let us support Rosie in
combating family violence.
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My son Luke was
murdered by his own father at cricket practice. He would have turned 13 today.
Please stand with me beside every victim of family violence at www.neveralone.com.au Together we will give victims a voice and demand our leaders act. -‐ Rosie Batty, Australian of the Year
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/lukebattyfoundation/photos/pb.1410534129218388.-2207520000.1434795549./1625683607703438/?type=1&theater]
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Luke Batty. Source: News Corp Australia
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Australian of
the year 2015: Rosie Batty’s speech text, pays tribute to son
January 25, 2015
THIS is the text of Rosie Batty’s speech
tonight after being named Australian of the year 2015 at a ceremony in
Canberra.
“Thank you Mr Prime
Minister. I am truly honoured. I would like to dedicate this award to my
beautiful son, Luke. He is the reason I have found my voice and I am able to be
heard.
“Whilst we celebrate the
wonderful country that we live in today, there remains a serious epidemic
across our nation. No matter where you live, family violence exists in every
pocket of every neighbourhood. It does not discriminate and it is across all
sections of our society. Family violence may happen behind closed doors but it
needs to be brought out from these shadows and into broad daylight. One in six
women has experienced physical or sexual abuse by a current or former partner
including some of those celebrating with us today. One in four children and at
least one woman a week is killed.
“Indigenous women
experience even greater family violence. The statistics are unacceptable,
indisputable and, if they did happen on our streets, there would be a public
outcry. To our government, we need your strong leadership to change these
rising statistics and your investment into both preventing the violence and
long-term secure funding to our specialist women services to deliver the
intensive support so desperately needed.
“To the Australian
people, look around. Do not ignore what you see and what you know is wrong.
Call out sexist attitudes and speak up when violence against women is
trivialised. To men, we need you to challenge each other and become part of the
solution. Raise the conversation and don’t shy away from this uncomfortable
topic. We cannot do this without you. “To the women and children who are
unsafe, in hiding or living in fear, who have changed their names, left their
extended families and moved from their communities to find safety, you do not
deserve to live a life that is dictated by violence. You are not to blame.
“Violence towards
anyone, man, woman or child, is never acceptable and never the right choice. It
is similarly not okay. As the Australian of the Year, I’m committed to building
greater campaigns to educate and challenge community attitudes. I am on a path
to expose family violence and to ensure that victims receive the respect,
support and safety that they deserve. And to Luke, my little man, you did not
die in vain and will not be forgotten. You are beside me on this journey and
with me every step of the way. Thank you.”
Australian
of the Year Rosie Batty dedicates award to her son
Published on Jan 25, 2015
Australian
of the Year Rosie Batty dedicates her award to her son Luke, who was killed by
his father. Read more here: http://ab.co/1zItN4p
VIDEO SOURCE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7rsDc_fRxc
INTERNET
SOURCE: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/rendezview/a-letter-from-rosie-batty-on-what-should-have-been-her-sons-13th-birthday/story-fnpug1jf-1227406118008
A letter from
Rosie Batty on what should have been her son’s 13th birthday
Rosie Batty
June 20, 2015 6:21AM
Today is a day that no mother should
have to go through. Today is the day my beautiful boy Luke should have turned
13.
If life had worked out as it ought to have, I would
have woken him this morning with his favourite breakfast. He would have dragged
his surly teenage self out of bed and while I made a fuss and gave him his
present, I would have marvelled at how my boy was so quickly morphing into a
man.
But instead, all I have is memories and a constant,
aching emptiness. Memories of my Luke, forever frozen in the body of an
eleven-year-old. Never to graduate from high school, never to don a backpack
and set off to explore the world, never to fall in love or have his heart
broken.
Today is a day that will be unique to me, for no
other mother had a son like my Luke. Yet sadly, it is also a day that will
bring a pain tragically familiar to many other mothers: the birthday of a loved
one lost to family violence.
Since Luke was killed, I have faced a fundamental
choice: rage against the senselessness of his death, or channel that energy and
try to make it count for something. Luke was too special not to leave a legacy,
and I am determined to forge one for him.
So it is today that I launch the Never Alone campaign on behalf of the Luke Batty
Foundation.
I want to build a nationwide support group of women
and men who commit to standing beside the victims of family violence.
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Luke was too special
not to leave a legacy, and I am determined to forge one for him. Picture: Rob
Leeson.
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I want us all to have uncomfortable
conversations about the way family violence services are funded, and about the
way the police and judicial systems deal with both the perpetrators and victims
of this most pernicious crime.
I want to drag this issue out from the
shadows so that no other mother has to experience the pain I will go through
today. That I go through every day.
And so, I urge you to join me. Show
your support to victims of family violence by signing up at www.neveralone.com.au
In the past year I have spoken out at
every opportunity, to have my story heard. It’s a simple story, and one that
will resonate with most victims of family violence. Luke and I were not to
blame for what happened to us. We were failed by the system - a system that I
wrongly believed was there to protect us. A system that desperately needs to change.
Unless we, as a society, make a stand,
now, the violence will only continue. There is momentum around this issue now,
but it can just as easily dissipate. We need to send the message to victims
that they are not alone.
Because together we can make a difference.
Together we can help to make birthdays the joyous events they are supposed to
be.
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