I was raised in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne (two parents, three sisters, assorted pets – great childhood) and, after failing matriculation in quite spectacular fashion, joined the RAAF at the age of seventeen. Blissfully unaware of how bad my hair looked, I enjoyed three wonderful years (what more can one say about an institution where the male-female ratio was about 500 – 1?) before leaving to complete a BA majoring in medieval history, which ably demonstrates how in touch I was with the local job market). At the same time I also joined the Army Reserves and spent part of the next fifteen years running around in camouflage gear whilst trying to master the intricacies of the M60 machine gun. In 1995, after enjoying (some more than others) a variety of jobs – I found myself back at university, this time completing first a teaching degree before deciding to focus on issues of gender, particularly violence against women. I completed my PhD in 2005, which led to a report on the long-term effects of DV on survivors. Oh, and along the way I managed to collect three children. Mine, not other people’s.
