Put Your Dress Out

This week, in a quiet country town in regional Australia, a young woman lost her life.  In the worst of circumstances.

It’s always hard to know what to do, what to say, what to express publicly in this kind of circumstance.

I didn’t know Stephanie Scott personally and yet her story hit me incredibly hard.

I know the area she worked, the area she was found. I knew teachers in that same part of New South Wales.

I know that I expect to feel safe – in Australia, in regional Australia, in country towns.

I was also a bride-to-be. As Stephanie was.  She was to be married today.

So when I saw that some people were paying tribute by ‘putting their dress out’ (it could be any dress, including wedding dresses) it seemed a simple, gentle tribute to make.  Perhaps to help her loved ones understand that we ALL wished she could have been walking up the aisle today.  Even though we didn’t know her.   So I pulled my ‘dress’ (actually a top and skirt ensemble) from their packing for the first time in 14 years… and hashtagged and shared.

It’s not much, but it was something.  And it crystallised a deep-seated wish to see something fundamental change.

There is no denying that there is just too much violence – in the world, in our country, in our backyards.  Violence is never okay.

I hope if anyone out there needs help – either to get away from violence, to help someone they know be safe, or to deal with their own behaviour – that they are prompted (by the tsunami of support for Stephanie’s loved ones) to seek it out.

Australia is lucky to have many support services in place – reaching out is the first, brave, important step.

A couple of useful links:

LIFELINE (phone and online chat)

WHITE RIBBON (great list of helplines)

MENSLINE  (support and counselling)