I know many of you are not in a position to give financial support so you do it in other ways. Thank you. I don’t want anyone to feel obligated but I do want to let the people who are able to help know how much it matters.
It’s well overdue, but I wanted to take a moment to thank all the people who are able to support FixedIt’s Patreon account and explain how much your support for FixedIt matters.
I’m often asked to name the worst headline I’ve ever fixed. My answer is always the same: all of them, because they are all about a person. One of the reasons I never lose sight of that is the number of times I’ve fixed a headline and then been contacted by the person the article was written about. They tell me their stories and what it felt like to see those headlines. Children who were abused see headlines that dismiss their trauma as “sex”. Women who’ve been assaulted see their abuser erased from the abuse they suffered. People torn apart by grief read sympathetic article about the man who killed a person they love. These people are very real and the effect of having their suffering presented to the world as their own fault is indescribable.
Those people are why FixedIt matter so much. Them, and the ones yet to come. We already know that around eighty women will be killed in Australia this year by a man who claims to love them. We wait and watch and hope, but still those headlines roll out, week after week. Hundreds of thousands more will be – are being – abused by their partners. Others will be assaulted by men who will not accept that women’s bodies are not just objects to be taken at will. Eventually some of those people will make it into the news. And the unspoken collusion of patriarchy will continue to render the abusers invisible and the victims blameable.
As much as I wish it wasn’t true, the need for FixedIt is not going to disappear any time soon. I also wish time and money were not the greatest barriers to keeping it going but landlords don’t accept activism in lieu of rent and you can’t buy food with Facebook shares. I want you all to know that without your support I would not have been able to pay rent this month. When finances are that tight I wouldn’t be able to spend time on FixedIt, I’d have to use that time finding other ways to pay rent.
In a very real way you are the only reason I can keep FixedIt going.
I know times are tough. I know many of you are struggling and have to give up something else to give your support to this. I grateful to every single one of you for what you do to keep it going.
The best day FixedIt will ever have is when I can tell you we don’t need it any more. Until then, all I can say is thank you.
FixedIt is an ongoing project to push back against the media’s constant erasure of violent men and blaming of innocent victims. If you would like to help fund it – even $5 a month makes a big difference – please consider becoming a Patron
1800 RESPECT
Sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling and support.
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Ph: 1800 737 732
www.1800respect.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Ph: 1300 659 467
www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au
Kids Helpline
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Phone: 1800 55 1800
www.kidshelp.com.au
MensLine Australia
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Phone: 1300 78 99 78
www.mensline.org.au
Child Wise National Abuse Helpline
Mon-Fri: 9 am – 5 pm
Ph: 1800 99 10 99
www.childwise.org.au
