Colours, rhymes and characters help tackle tricky topic
Children who witness domestic violence in their families struggle to find words to understand and explain what they see naturally.
However, it is hoped that a collection of cute characters, rhyme verse and magnificent illustrations will help to change it to a new children’s book called Raindrops and Dreams.
The inspiration of the groundbreaking project came to the author Katrina Tsaftaropoulos long before the family assistance began her role as a domestic violence case worker for NSW.
After being employed under court advocacy, he saw that women attended hearings with small children in spare and wondering why they were there and how they were there.
“It was clear that children make decisions made by customers’ decisions, and I thought it would be hard to find the language (for mothers) to explain what they were.” He said.
“If you are experiencing this, there are people who can help, and it is written to offer people a way to start talking.”
The story is completely composed in the verse, Mrs. Tsaftaropoulos wants to integrate keywords and expressions about the domestic violence sector.
“Children with domestic violence are not only witnesses, they are affected by them,” he said.
“I really wanted the formation to form and not to feel so lonely.”
Although Mrs. Tsaftaropoulos’ words described himself as a flashy, he was implemented by his colleague Marina Wilkinson, depicting the book that had not previously undertaken such a project.
The issue was deeply personal for him after he had a child violence in domestic violence and “walking out of the storm” with his mother.
“Inspiration came from the power they had while protecting their children at all costs,” he said.
“Most of the book is my personal memory in visual form, which was a benefit … I tried to look like a fairy tale even if it was heavy.”
The book follows the mummy, father and child bubbles and the Lillygator Trocony family living in a swamp.
But the father’s crocodile sometimes gets very angry and bites the mummy, which means that the police need to be called.
Children stay with their aunts and the father should be removed from the swamp until they agree to change their behavior.
The animals next to the crocodiles include turtles, Kocaburras, kangaroo and quokkas, known to Australian children.
“There was no way to draw people because I didn’t want to put them with bruises.” He said.
“In my mind, my thoughts went to my mother with his bruises, so I thought that animals would create a gap between a very harsh reality and images.”
Both the author and the illustrator wanted to make the book a way to talk about a difficult issue.
“Sometimes the most difficult conversations are the most needed conversations.” He said.
Legal aid was established ten years ago and is defined as “heavy lifeline” in the sector.
According to Family Law Director Katie Kelso, the support of victims of domestic violence is the only stop shop “.
“We have seen a 700 percent increase in demand since we first established, and only 70 percent increase in the last two years.” He said.
“The role of judicial assistance not only provides representation services, but also our role in raising awareness about the issues in the community.”
1800 Respect (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men’s Recommendation Service 1300 766 491
