When the right support is provided at the right time, balance can begin to be restored. 

Balancing the scales reminds us that meaningful progress is collective.

As we mark International Women’s Day this quarter, the theme, Balance the Scales has been on my mind a lot. In the work we do at JSC, I’m reminded daily that balance doesn’t just happen. I hold on to something I’ve seen time and again: when the right support is there at the right time, balance can begin to be restored. 

Across our region, women and families are carrying so much - housing insecurity, financial abuse, migration vulnerability, or barriers to legal support - and the very real challenge of trying to get help from systems that can feel complicated and intimidating. JSC and our partner organisations' step in and provide the right support at the right time to help the women and the families work towards rebuilding their lives and restoring balance. 

It was a privilege to hear from Amani Haydar today during our Midday Insights session. Her reflections on resilience, justice and the lived realities behind domestic and family violence were powerful. We extend our sincere thanks to Amani for sharing her story with such courage and generosity. 

In this edition, you’ll hear from our legal and casework teams about what they are seeing on the ground across Sydney - and what’s making a difference. We’re also sharing a client journey that shows the quiet but profound impact of timely, trauma-informed support. You will also hear directly from one of our staff members about what restoring balance can look like in practice, and why understanding your rights can be life changing.  

Balancing the scales is work we can only do together. Over the past 40 years, we have seen what’s possible when communities invest in accessible legal help, early intervention and culturally safe support - stronger families, safer communities and fairer outcomes for those who need them most. 

As we recognise International Women’s Day, we invite you to please support our work. When you give - you help someone gain safety, clarity about their rights; and a pathway to stability and independence. Your contribution helps ensure more women and families can access the justice, safety and support they deserve, and that, together, we can continue balancing the scales where it matters most. 

Thank you for your ongoing solidarity. 

Melanie 

Balance through practice: a staff reflection

As a quarterly staff spotlight, we hear a thoughtful reflection on what balance looks like in practice, the importance of knowing your rights, and the personal journey that shapes this work. Drawing on decades of experience at JSC, our DFV Caseworker shared her insights that speak to the quiet discipline, resilience and purpose that underpin strong, client-centred support every day. 

Q1: What does balance mean in my work? 

Balancing my work to me means managing my professional responsibilities alongside my personal life to prevent burnout and to ensure healthy wellbeing. 

I consider myself a task-oriented person. To keep my balance at work, I need to make sure I am in control of my workload and put 100% of myself in what I am doing.  

I always want to carry out my duty effectively, and in the best of my capacity. Therefore, I am trying to maintain a calm, cool, and collected attitude as I know it’s easy to make silly mistakes when I’m in a rush or lacking concentration. 

Balancing my work also means to have a clear boundary. I switch myself off completely after work, to allow time for family, health, and hobbies. I go to the gym mostly every day to exercise, relax, and recharge my energy.  

To achieve balance at work, I think It would be important to keep balance outside of work too. These two elements complement each other. 

Q2 : “What’s one thing I wish women knew about their rights?” 

One thing I wish women knew about their rights is everyone has the right to be treated with respect, equal, and dignity regardless of their background, class, religion, race, age, and level of education.  

I came to Australia 35 years ago, I used to have very low self-esteem, lack of confidence, maybe because I am coming from a Non-English Speaking Background (NESB). I think many of our clients accepted being looked down, and ill-treated as they do not have the courage and confidence to speak up. 

Q3: Other insight I would like to share 

Time passes very quickly, looking back already thirty years that I have been working at JSC. I appreciate everything that I have received from this service. I am grateful for the opportunity to meet and work with so many kind, talented, resilient, and passionate people that helped me to learn, to change and to improve myself every day. I wish our centre will become the best place for people to come to work; one that shows respect, support, understanding, a high-level of advocacy and professionalism.   

Integrated casework and legal support changes a life

Around International Women’s Day, we are reminded that progress happens when support is both practical and timely when we give the right help at the right moment, women and families gain the stability and safety they
need to move forward. 
_______________ 

Hannah* first connected with our internal DFV Casework Team in 2023 after separating from her former partner, Peter*, the father of her two children. She disclosed a history of escalating domestic violence, including verbal and emotional abuse, physical assaults, and ongoing threats after separation. She was assessed as needing intensive support, particularly around safety planning, home security, and linking in with specialist services. 

In late 2024, her DFV Caseworker, reached out to the legal team. Hannah wanted to apply for an Immediate Needs Support Package (INSP), but her caseworker was concerned the situation was more complex than a standard application given the seriousness of the violence, the ongoing threats and the overlap with family law issues. It was clear she would benefit from close, integrated support across both teams. 

We prioritised an in-person appointment to create space for Hannah to speak openly and feel supported. Taking the time to meet face to face and move at her pace was critical. During these conversations, Hannah disclosed for the first time to our Solicitor that she had experienced sexual assault during the relationship, in addition to the previously reported physical violence. 

Although Hannah had moved with her children to a new apartment, she remained in contact with Peter so he could see the children. However, she shared with our Solicitor that she still felt unsafe as only months earlier, during a handover, he had made threats to kill her... 
*names changed to protect privacy

A session with Amani Haydar and her book;
The Mother Wound 

We were honoured to welcome Amani Haydar to our recent Midday Insights session during the week of International Women’s Day. 

Amani spoke with rare honesty and courage about grief, resilience and the enduring strength of women in the face of profound trauma. Her reflections, drawn from lived experience and professional insight, deeply resonated with our team and the communities we serve. 

The synopsis of her book below captures the power and purpose at the heart of The Mother Wound; a story that continues to challenge, move and inspire. 

'I am from a family of strong women.' 
Amani Haydar suffered the unimaginable when she lost her mother in a brutal act of domestic violence perpetrated by her father. Five months pregnant at the time, her own perception of how she wanted to mother (and how she had been mothered) was shaped by this devastating murder. 
After her mother's death, Amani began reassessing everything she knew of her parents' relationship. They had been unhappy for so long - should she have known that it would end like this? A lawyer by profession, she also saw the holes in the justice system for addressing and combating emotional abuse and coercive control... 
Amani also had to reckon with the weight of familial and cultural context. Her parents were brought together in an arranged marriage, her mother thirteen years her father's junior. Her grandmother was brutally killed in the 2006 war in Lebanon, adding complex layers of intergenerational trauma. 
Writing with grace and beauty, Amani has drawn from this a story of female resilience and the role of motherhood in the home and in the world. In The Mother Wound, she uses her own strength to help other survivors find their voices. 

Author Information

Amani Haydar is an artist, lawyer, mum and advocate for women's health and safety based in Western Sydney. Amani's writing and illustrations have been published in ABC News Online and SBS Life and her self-portrait Insert Headline Here was a finalist in the 2018 Archibald Prize. Amani uses visual art and writing to explore the personal and political dimensions of abuse, loss, identity and resilience.

SWS WDVCAS remains committed to ensuring women are heard, supported
and protected

As Manager of the South West Sydney Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service (SWS WDVCAS), I see how critical strong, enforceable legal protections are in restoring safety and dignity for women and children. 

Recently, our service supported a woman who had experienced years of abuse from her former partner, much of it never reported. The violence escalated to a serious assault involving strangulation, prompting her to contact police. An Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) was applied for. At the same time, she was ill and in the hospital. 

SWS WDVCAS immediately recognised the heightened risk associated with strangulation and elevated the matter to the Safety Action Meeting (SAM). The service proactively advocated with Domestic Violence Liaison Officers (DVLOs) to strengthen the protections in place...

Alongside legal advocacy, the service coordinated closely with the hospital social work team to support a safe and structured discharge plan focused on her health needs. Family members assisted with immediate safety measures, and SWS WDVCAS facilitated a referral to Victims Services for an Immediate Needs Support Package (INSP) to implement home security upgrades.

Ongoing court support was provided to ensure she felt informed, prepared and empowered throughout proceedings.

Farah Assafiri
Manager, SWS WDVCAS

SYD WDVCAS stands beside a mother and her children

Recently, our Sydney (SYD) WDVCAS team stood beside a mother and her children whose lives were reshaped by years of abuse, coercive control, and terrifying experiences at the hands of someone who had once promised to love and care for them. 

When the mother made the brave decision to report the violence, she believed safety would follow. Instead, the police response and lengthy court process brought new layers of fear. A final AVO was granted, protecting her and her children, and the user of violence received a custodial sentence. Knowing that the user of violence would be released before the AVO expired created a depth of anxiety that never truly left. 

Through conversations, the mother recalled, “I thought reporting would make us feel safer. Instead, everything changed.” 

Fearing retaliation from the extended family of the user of violence, the mother and her children relocated to an unknown community. The children left behind friends, school, church, sports, and every familiar safe space. 

In the new environment, the mother felt isolated and cautious. Building new relationships felt unsafe. Trust felt impossible. Every door was locked and checked. Every routine carefully guarded...

Our SYD WDVCAS team provided support and advocacy to explore options for a private application for an AVO extension. That meant returning to court, revisiting trauma, preparing statements and reliving experiences no one should have to relive. Safety planning intensified. Emotions ran high. Our team worked alongside the professionals already supporting the family...

The mum said, “all I want is to try to normalise life for my children. All I want is my family to be safe." 

For us as a Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Service, we stand with families like this one; we have the privilege to walk beside them while in fear, in courtrooms and to be part of celebrating moments of relief...

When you give, you help
someone gain safety

Across South West Sydney, many women and families come to us at moments when life feels profoundly out of balance. They are facing domestic and family violence, housing instability, financial abuse, or complex legal barriers they cannot navigate alone. 

At JSC, we see every day that when the right support is provided at the right time, lives change. 

This is the heart of Give to Gain. 

• When you give, you help someone gain safety. 

• When you give, you help someone gain clarity about their rights. 

• When you give, you help someone gain a pathway to stability and independence. 

Your donation directly supports free, trauma-informed legal and casework services for women and families in South West Sydney and Sydney: many from culturally and linguistically diverse communities who may otherwise go without help. 

Over our 40-year history, we have seen that early, accessible support doesn’t just respond to crisis, it rebalances futures. It keeps families safer, strengthens communities, and helps ensure that justice is not determined by income or circumstance. 

This week of International Women’s Day, and beyond, we invite you to be part of that impact. Give today and help someone gain the support they need to move forward. 

Acknowledgement of Country

Justice Support Centre proudly acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we operate, the Cabrogal Peoples of the Darug nation, the Gadigal Peoples of the Eora Nation, as well as the Tharawal and Gandangara Nations. We acknowledge their continuing connection to the land, waters and community and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. We extend this respect to all Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Peoples.