Speakers

Maryam has been working with Central West WDVCAS for approximately three years. Starting as a support worker, Maryam has been a DV specialist for two years with and multicultural focus since last year. Her role is supporting the victim survivors of DV who are from a multicultural community as well as her general clients. Maryam’s nationality is Persian and she has been in Australia for 14 years. Maryam was an art teacher for 22 years, and made a whole career change to work with victim-survivors as a DV support worker.

Annabelle has been a leader in the social sector for over 20 years, working in private enterprise, the Australian government and the community sector including as the Manager of Elsie’s refue, Australia’s first women’s shelter. As CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, Annabelle Daniel has worked with local communities around NSW to establish new shelters and has collaborated with a range of organisations, individuals and stakeholders, from the community and all levels of government to achieve change in the field of homelessness for women and children.

Jackie McMillan is a senior project officer at Women's Health NSW working on a project creating pathways for women experiencing non-fatal strangulation and acquired brain injuries. This role harnesses her commitment to ending violence against women honed during her time at Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) with her expertise in sexual consent and sexual health developed across nearly a decade at the Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP). She is currently the President of the SWOP executive committee.

Courtney Artridge is a project officer at Women’s Health NSW (WHNSW) working on a project that focuses on strengthening professional understanding and local capacity to respond to sexual assault related non-fatal strangulation and acquired brain injury. Courtney’s passion and unique understanding of the gendered nature of violence was gained from her work within the international humanitarian aid sector and project implementation in countries suffering from violent conflict, including Iraq and Yemen. Courtney’s professional experience expands across a variety of roles, including nurse, security adviser, education officer and prehospital care coordinator.

Tanya Whitehouse OAM has worked at the Macarthur Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service for 30 years, supporting and walking alongside victim survivors of Domestic and Family Violence. She was the Deputy Chair of Blue Wren House - Camden Women’s Shelter ending in 2023 and was an integral part of the setting up for this Shelter. Tanya is the Convenor of Camden/Wollondilly DV Committee and member of Campbelltown DV Committee. She participates in community consultations and committees in the sector. In 2015 Tanya was awarded the Justice Medal with the Law and Justice Foundation. In 2018 she was named Camden Woman of the Year and in 2020 received an OAM for her service to the community through welfare initiatives. Tanya’s focus and passion is to be the voice for those women who haven’t yet found theirs. Her goal is to empower women so that they feel safe with their children and challenge the inequities that come with the complexities of Domestic Violence. Her mantra is “underestimate me, that will be fun”!