‘GET OUT NOW!’
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVOR:
As many parts of the country face a coronavirus lockdown, a woman who was shot and strangled by her ex has made a desperate plea to domestic violence victims: “Get out now!”
Though many experts say the only real chance we have of overcoming the pandemic is a complete lockdown, activists fear a huge rise in domestic violence if that situation arises.
“It provides an opportunity for abusers to unleash more violence,” Anita Bhatia of United Nations Women said.
Queensland mum-of-five Rachael Moore, who narrowly survived a 2014 attack by her ex, urges anyone living with an abusive partner to take action.
“Call helplines, contact police if your situation requires. If you have family or friends to take you in … Go now!” Rachael tells New Idea. “The increasing rate of self-isolation with the perpetrator is incredibly dangerous and there are not
enough shelters for women to seek refuge in.”
Rachael, 42, believes selfisolation combined with stress and record alcohol sales is a perfect storm for disaster.
“Victims of domestic abuse face being stuck in their homes with their abuser,” she says. “Loss of jobs, economic hardship, mental health, alcohol use, it’s a volatile situation akin to [a] pressure cooker and if there are children home all day, they will be subject to this violence with no escape.”
If it wasn’t for her children, Jayden, 19, Cameron, 18, Kaylea, 15, Zane, 10 and Samantha, 8, Rachael wouldn’t have survived the horrific attack by her ex, Daryl Fields – who she had broken up with a year earlier because of his violence.
“Reaching out to helplines was vital in helping me understand the gravity of our situation. Making that first call to police was critical,” Rachael explains.
Recalling the moment Fields stormed her home, loaded a shotgun and pointed it at her as she cowered in a bedroom with her children, Rachael says she thought she was going to die: “I remember looking at my children, making long eye contact with my eldest son. Then he pulled the trigger.”
Fields – the father of her two youngest children – shot Rachael in the arm. Her son, Cameron, bravely punched Fields in the stomach and wrestled the gun from his grip, before running outside and hiding it.
Determined to finish what he started, Fields strangled Rachael and attempted to gouge her eye out with his bare hands.
“After I was shot, I recall being dragged across the floor, massive hands around my throat. I remember feeling tired and thinking I was falling asleep,” Rachael recalls.
“As he was gauging my eye out, I used my blood to get my fingers under his thumb.
“My children were fighting for our lives. Punching, kicking, biting, everything they had they give. My eldest, Jayden, then 13, put him in a choke hold, while my second oldest, Cameron, then 10, punched him in the head.”
Zane – then just 4 – had the presence of mind to hide his then 2-year-old sister, Samantha, under the bed while Kaylea, then 10, dragged her mum outside to safety and bandaged her shattered arm.
Unsurprisingly, the children’s outstanding courage earned them prestigious bravery awards. Fields was sentenced to 12 years’ jail for Rachael’s attempted murder.
Meanwhile, Rachael has had a total of 57 operations on her arm and suffered agonising bone infections. But finally there is a light at the end of
the tunnel. “I’ve been told many times that amputation was a possibility. But now I can grab cups, I can do the OK sign,
I can hang my washing, I can do the dishes,” she smiles.
Though she’s been left with chronic nerve pain, for Rachael the hardest part is seeing her children suffer.
“The trauma left is harder to deal with, especially for children. In many cases PTSD and behaviour issues are very common for children of DV,” she says.
“Samantha was under 2 years old when she witnessed this. She’d tell people she had two mummies. The mummy she remembered and this new mummy. My youngest son has suffered greatly; we’ve been in therapy for a long time.”
Determined to help others, Rachael shares her story as an advocate for Women’s Legal Service Qld and Beyond DV. What she’s hearing from her network is victims are finding it harder to leave because of the fallout from the coronavirus, but Rachael’s message is clear.
“If you have a safe place to go, leave now. Do not wait,” she warns. “Nothing is more valuable than your life and the lives of your children.”
If you are concerned about domestic violence, go to: 1800respect.org.au
To donate to Women’s Legal Service, go to: womens-legal-service.giveeasy. org/you-can-help