Help My Journey to the UN Women’s Commission!!

Charleen Marsters is organizing this fundraiser.

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I have been invited to participate as a delegate in the Breaking Silent Codes forum at the United Nations’ 64th Commission of the Status of Women in New York between 6 -16 March 2020.

Through my creative work and lived experiences, I hope to encourage and support other young First Nations women to break the silent codes which prevent them from speaking out and escaping family violence.

Attending this event and having the opportunity to speak with my fellow delegates will affect my practice, my companionships, and enable me to be a good role model for young people who grew up like me, those without a strong sense of identity or self worth.

Can you help me to amplify my voice in conversations concerning the rights of women, structural discrimination, colonisation and its impacts - and what it looks like today for someone who has strived to rise above it all?

What is Breaking Silent Codes?

As a contributor, I can say that it’s a book dedicated to sharing the collective experiences and wisdom of Australian and Pacifica First Nation women’s journeys out of violence to empowerment and so much more.

What I’m involved in offers individual and collective examples of the importance of ‘gender equality and empowering women who have and continue to contribute to growth, development and stability in our country, communities, and families.

I AM a representative of violence against women globally and the power of women’s collective response to violence – and this opportunity offers a platform for women to have ‘borderless’ conversations and prioritises the possibility of achieving global gender equality, through the prevention and elimination of all forms of gender-based violence, including sexual assault and family violence.

It’s critical that we tell our own our stories and that we come together to navigate our way out of violence, a violence that is is so deeply ingrained in our communities, in our homes and in our families. The journey to empowerment is possible, and I am testament to that.

This event will bring First Nations women together to share with the global community the knowledge they have gained in breaking the cycle of violence and the pathways they found that have allowed women to live freely and safely in their communities.

The panel discussion event will showcase the power of women’s song lines across Australia and the Pacific as they individually and collectively responded to their personal and intergenerational experiences of violence and because I always work with the acknowledgement of my lens, it is important for me as a New Zealand born, Australian raised Cook Island woman to speak on my own lived experience of DV and sexual violence.

It is equally important to recognise that my story is not just comprised of those things, I am much more. We are much more, we are capable of so much more than we know.

When I reflect on what got me to this point, I think I studied to be a Social Worker to understand my own trauma. Now, I practice social work and drama as an ode to my past, my people’s and hope for the future. Being invited to actively participate in this event that showcase the programs and responses each woman and community have used to break the silent codes of violence means that I can learn more in a profound and transformative way.

Outside of the Breaking Silent Codes event the delegation of Breaking Silent Codes women will be attending other parallel events and also be visiting Freedom House, Barrier Free Living Refuge for survivors of family violence with complex needs (Safe House) NY, MeToo International, Bronx NY, Connect for Safer Families and Communities, Harlem NY and American Indian Community House Chinatown NY.

This is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity to participate, inspire and contribute and I need financial assistance to raise $2000 to cover the travel and accomodation costs to attend this incredible experience.

Financial contributions, large or small all add up and would help me to get closer to my goal. Beyond that, sharing this campaign on social media, or sending a link to family, friends and community would be so helpful too.