BRISBANE author and emotional abuse survivor Michaela Daphne hopes the tragic deaths of Hannah Clarke and her three children will steer Australia on the path to eliminating domestic violence.
Ms Clarke was driving her three children to school when her estranged husband set their vehicle alight on a street in Camp Hill on February 19.
The children died in the fire, but Ms Clarke was pulled out alive.
She died in hospital that night, succumbing to burns to 97 per cent of her body.
“The story of Hannah and her children is a horrific tragedy,” Ms Daphne, who is a Catholic, said.
The senseless tragedy, which is being treated as a suspected murder-suicide, was a chilling reminder of Ms Daphne’s own experience of an abusive partner.
Shortly before her 18th birthday she entered a relationship with a man who showed signs of abusive behaviours, including watching her spending, controlling her diet, and questioning her decision to be a Catholic.
She left the relationship when her father intervened, but said she only realised she had been in an abusive relationship when she saw a government advertisement about domestic violence six months later.
“Until that moment, I hadn’t thought I was a victim of domestic violence,” Ms Daphne said.
The experience inspired her to write a book series, titled Purlieu, for young women.
It depicts “warning signs” of a toxic relationship.
In the days following Mr Clarke’s death, it was revealed that the 31-year-old had been in an abusive relationship for several years, and had left her estranged husband months before he killed her.
Speaking to A Current Affair, her mother Suzanna Clarke revealed that her daughter told her she did not believe her husband was abusive “because he never hit me”.
Ms Daphne said this was a common response among women who were in a romantic relationship.
“I’ve since found that this is a common experience because things are so blurry when you’re in love – or you think you’re in love,” she said. “I’m not surprised the abuse lasted so many years for Hannah before she tried to do something and leave him.
“She wouldn’t be the first woman, and won’t be the last.
“But it’s my hope that one day domestic violence won’t be a part of Australian culture.”
Ms Daphne said she was committed to “helping prevent domestic violence through educating our young women about healthy relationships”. But she also believed support for women was only half the solution.
“We owe it to our men – who often don’t have great role models of love and respect – to equip them too,” Ms Daphne said.
