ROSIE BATTY
Inside her new crusade
It’s been more than five years since Rosie Batty’s 11-year-old son Luke Batty was tragically killed at cricket practice, murdered by his father Greg Anderson. Since Luke’s death, Batty has become a tireless domestic violence campaigner. But sometimes, she admits, when speaking with families who, like her, have suffered, it hurts. “It’s really confronting to hear their stories,” Batty tells WHO. “It does re-traumatise and re-trigger me, no matter how much I try to keep their experiences and my own separate.”
Batty speaks from her heart when she campaigns to end violence in the home and to protect children. Her latest fight sees her joining forces with the Women’s Legal Services to bring reforms. “What’s wrong is that 70 per cent of the families that come through the system will and are experiencing family violence and the court system is just not equipped to deal with those complexities and certainly doesn’t have the expertise to ensure that children’s safety is first and foremost,” Batty explains.
Because of the sheer number of cases, she says some families wait years before theirs is heard by the court. “This is as a result, from what I can determine, of an underfunded, under-resourced system that’s screaming under the strain of what it has to deal with.”
Batty’s comments come ahead of a federal inquiry into the family law system, and she is opposed to the inquiry’s deputy chairperson, Queensland politician Pauline Hanson. Batty believes Senator Hanson should be replaced over comments that she wanted to investigate women who lie about domestic violence in divorces, based on the alleged experience of Hanson’s son. “[Her comments] send a really horrible and damaging message to anyone who may want to contribute to an inquiry that they will be judged and may be considered liars,” Batty says.
There are also question marks about the validity of a federal inquiry when two previous reports into family law have failed to see any recommendations adopted by the government. “I doubt the inquiry will uncover anything new,” Batty says. She is instead backing a five-step plan which she believes would improve things for families in the system. These include strengthening family violence responses in the family law system; providing effective legal help for the most disadvantaged; ensuring family law professionals have real understanding of family violence; increasing access to safe dispute resolution models; and overcoming the gaps between the family law, family violence and child protection systems.
Whether or not Batty’s push to have Hanson replaced succeeds or not, it’s clear Batty’s political message is, at its core, a very human one. She wants to protect children. “They are the most powerless,” she says.
Batty’s journey since 2014 has not been without its significant challenges. Last year, she stepped down from the foundation she built in Luke’s honour, the Luke Batty Foundation. Negative comments contributed to Batty stepping back from the public eye for a while. “When you speak out you receive very nasty backlash and threats towards you,” she reveals. “It is really difficult when you are bombarded with hate mail and the ugly side of humanity when you’re really doing your best. It does take its toll on you.”
That is a small section of society. For the most part, Batty is encouraged by the ongoing support she’s received since Luke’s death, especially from the Tyabb community in Victoria. The town has a memorial garden dedicated to Luke and each year his former school friends come to the site to mark the anniversary of his death. There’s also an annual cricket match in Luke’s honour. “It’s hard to believe it’s five years and soon will be six, but time moves on for people,” she says. “Clearly for me, I will always be grieving Luke but it is great for me to know how many people want to remember Luke and are still impacted by what happened to him. It reassures me that he won’t be forgotten.
“As much as I would give anything to be Luke’s mum, I’m very thankful for the pathway that has opened up to me and the work I’ve been able to do.” Change doesn’t happen overnight. For Batty, the journey continues.
“I will always be grieving Luke”