Many of you no doubt will be reeling from the recent murder of Hannah Clarke and her family in Brisbane. 

I share the feelings of loss and sadness and anger every time there is a murder, not just this one because its high profile, but each time we hear these now familiar words. 

Given the profile of the most recent case of family violence, the murder of Hannah and her children, No to Violence has been called to speak with the media. And we’ve made the every effort to have our voice heard.

In the wake of the national outcry about the case and this media attention the office has:

• Posted and promoted the Men’s Referral Service – 1300 766 491
• Worked with sector colleagues to call for action
• Reached out to services and key people and organisations in Queensland
• Spoken to print, TV, radio and online platforms to spread our messages and promote the Men’s Referral Service. 

Now, I want to reach out to you our broader network and, especially, our members.  If you have ideas or feel we should reach out in another way, we want to hear from you.

I also want to remind everyone that our work is hard and it’s easy to take it home with us. Working in this field means we are up against harsh realities everyday and it’s important to be kind to ourselves and others. 

Incidents like this remind me of the importance of our work and re-galvanises our efforts to try to end family violence.

I look forward to continuing to work with you on this goal.

Jacqui