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Rosie Batty

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Rosie Batty
AO
Batty speaking at the Women's Lunch on Day One of the 2015 ACTU Congress
Born
Rosemary Anne Batty[1]

1962 (age 61–62)[2][3]
Laneham, Nottinghamshire, England[4]
NationalityBritish, Australian[citation needed]
CitizenshipBritish, Australian[citation needed]
Known forDomestic violence campaigner
ChildrenLuke Batty (2002–2014)
Awards

Rosemary Anne "Rosie" Batty AO (born 1962) is an English-born Australian domestic violence campaigner. She became a campaigner in 2014, after her 11-year-old son Luke Batty was murdered by his father, Greg Anderson.[5] She was made Australian of the Year in 2015.[6]

As a campaigner, she has spoken publicly about her experiences as a survivor of domestic violence to raise public awareness and advocate for social changes.[7] Batty is considered to have had a significant influence on national public attitudes, philanthropy, government initiatives and funding, support services and police and legal procedures related to domestic violence in Australia.[7][8][9]

In 2016, then prime minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull said of domestic violence in Australia that "cultural change requires a great advocate, and Rosie has been able to do that in a way that I think nobody has done before".[10]

On 10 June 2019, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the general division as part of the Queen's Birthday 2019 Honours recognition for her "distinguished service to the community as a campaigner and advocate for the prevention of family violence".[11][12]

Background

[edit]

Batty was born in England and raised on a farm in Laneham in the English county of Nottinghamshire by her father along with her three brothers.[13]

When Batty was six years old her mother died, and she was raised by nannies and her maternal grandmother. Batty says that her mother's death had a long-term impact: "I have not really formed permanent relations with anybody; I have never been married and neither have my two other brothers. I think it really traumatises you from having key relationships because of that fear that they are going to leave you."[14]

After high school she completed a secretarial course and worked briefly as a bank clerk and as a nanny in Australia.

Batty settled in Australia in 1988 on a partner visa[further explanation needed] following an initial visit in 1986.[14]

Personal life and abuse

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Batty met Anderson in 1992 when they worked together at a recruitment company and the two began a romantic relationship that lasted two years.[15] Batty claimed that Anderson showed signs of sexual violence whilst they were together and later alleged he attempted to rape a friend of Batty's, after which Batty ended the two-year relationship.[16] Almost eight years later, she reinitiated contact with him and resumed a brief sexual relationship, which led to Batty's pregnancy. She claimed she never planned to have a child, given her lifelong fear of loss, and that her son was an accident.[14]

Their son Luke was born on 20 June 2002.[citation needed]

Batty claimed that Anderson's abuse began shortly after they met and increased when she fell pregnant.[17] Batty has expressed that Anderson was a loving father to Luke and she defended his right to have contact with their son.[citation needed]

In the 2014 coronial inquest into Luke's death it was reported that Anderson may have had an undiagnosed mental illness.[18] He struggled to maintain a job and a place to live and has also been described by those who knew him as unstable, manipulative and aggressive.[citation needed] Soon after Luke was born, Anderson physically assaulted Batty, prompting her to end their relationship, although Anderson remained in contact.[citation needed]

From June 2004 until February 2014, Batty made numerous allegations that Anderson physically assaulted and threatened to kill her, leading to a number of arrests, charges[further explanation needed] and intervention orders. In November 2012, Anderson was caught accessing child pornography at a public computer in a Melbourne library. In January 2014, Anderson allegedly threatened to kill one of his flatmates, leading to the flatmate seeking an intervention order and Anderson being arrested but released shortly after without charge. Batty was not aware of these events at the time and was not made aware due to privacy laws.[7][15][17][18]

In April 2013, Batty alleged to police that Anderson had wielded a knife at Luke when they were alone inside his car and said "it could all end with this." Batty wanted Anderson to have no contact with Luke. An interim intervention order was made by the court ordering that Anderson could have no further contact with his son, naming both Batty and Luke as protected persons. At a hearing, in July 2013, the interim order was not upheld and Anderson was granted access to Luke in public when he was playing sport.[citation needed]

Murder of Luke

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On 12 February 2014, Anderson murdered eleven year old Luke Batty at cricket practice on a sports oval in the outer Melbourne suburb of Tyabb.[19][20] Although parents and children were present, as people began to leave and were some distance away, Anderson managed to isolate Luke inside a cricket net, where he struck his son on the head and stabbed him to death. Anderson resisted arrest and threatened ambulance workers with his knife. He later died in hospital from police gunshots and self-inflicted stab wounds.[21]

In the coronial inquest, police officers, child protection services and Rosie Batty stated that they never believed that Anderson would harm Luke, as although he had a record of violence against Rosie Batty, he was not violent toward his son.[15]

Campaign against domestic violence

[edit]
Batty speaking at an Australian Human Rights Commission panel discussion in July 2015.

Batty began speaking publicly about her experience after addressing the media the morning after Luke's murder.[14] She became an advocate for domestic violence survivors and victims, and sought to address perceived systemic failures in responses to domestic violence in Australia.[5][22][23] She has spoken about a lack of communication between services, about public perceptions of domestic violence, about a lack of funding, and about police and legal procedures that she felt disempowered her ability to protect herself and her son.[7]

In 2014, Batty established the Luke Batty Foundation to assist women and children affected by domestic violence.[24]

In April 2014, she responded to a comment from journalist Joe Hildebrand on Ten Network's Studio 10, a TV panel show. In discussing proposed Victorian laws for compulsory reporting of child abuse cases, Hildebrand said that being "scared for your own safety, I'm sorry, it is not an excuse." In response, Batty said that she was shocked at the notion, and had thought that after her son's death, she had hoped that "something would come out of this that would actually show the difficulty women have in abusive relationships".[25]

In September 2015 she called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to close Australian immigration detention facilities due to the incidence of rape and sexual assault.[26]

Batty's story was instrumental in the establishment in 2015 of the Royal Commission into Family Violence in her home state of Victoria.[27][28] It was tabled in Parliament on 30 March 2016. The report is a culmination of a 13-month inquiry into how to effectively prevent family violence, improve early intervention, support victims, make perpetrators accountable, better coordinate community and government response, and evaluate and measure strategies, frameworks, policies, programs and services.[29] The report includes eight volumes, and is founded on 227 recommendations made by the commission to improve, guide and oversee a long-term reform program that deals with family violence. This includes the establishment of the Family Violence Protection Act, which provides a detailed definition of family violence, the relationships in which it can arise, and a reinforcement of the sound objectives and principles of the Act.[30]

In late 2016, Batty wrote to Federal Immigration Minister Peter Dutton in support of Dr. Chamari Liyanage, who had bludgeoned her husband to death with a hammer in his bed while he slept in 2014, claiming that Liyanage should be allowed to remain in Australia after her release from prison, stating that this would "demonstrate a compassionate Australian Government that truly understands the plight of family and domestic violence victims."[31]

On 16 February 2018, Batty announced that she would step down as the chief executive of the Luke Batty Foundation, and eventually shut down the foundation. On the same day, the Foundation stopped receiving donations.[32][33]

Recognition

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Batty was awarded the Pride of Australia's National Courage Medal in 2014, appointed 2015 Australian of the Year, awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the Sunshine Coast, and was ranked number 33 in the list of the World's Greatest Leaders 2016 by Fortune magazine.[6][8][34][35]

In 2015 she was the subject of a portrait by Jacqui Clark named Meeting Rosie Batty, which was selected for the 2015 Portia Geach Memorial Award.[36]

In October 2018 Batty was named in the social enterprise and not-for-profit category of The Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence awards.[37]

On 10 June 2019, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia as part of the Queen's Birthday 2019 Honours recognition.[11]

Other activities

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On 10 October 2023, Batty was one of 25 Australians of the Year who signed an open letter supporting the Yes vote in the Indigenous Voice referendum, initiated by psychiatrist Patrick McGorry.[38][39]

Bibliography

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  • Batty, Rosie; Corbett, Bryce (21 September 2015). A Mother's Story. HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited (published 2015). ISBN 978-1-4607-5055-1.
  • Batty, Rosie; Smethurst, Sue (3 April 2024). Hope. HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty Limited (published 2024). ISBN 978-1-4607-6029-1.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Witness Statement of Rosie Batty, Royal Commission into Family Violence, 6 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Rosie Batty named Australian of the Year". Sky News. Australia. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Mother says Luke loved and trusted his father despite his problems". The Age. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Former Lincoln school pupil watches ex-partner batter their son to death with cricket bat in Australia". Lincolnshire Echo. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b Garner, Helen (October 2014). "Mother courage – At Home with Rosie Batty". The Monthly. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Australian of the Year: Rosie Batty awarded top honour for efforts to stop family violence". ABC News. Australia. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d "Rosie's Story". www.abc.net.au. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Australian of the Year Awards". www.australianoftheyear.org.au. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  9. ^ Wheildon, Lisa J.; True, Jacqui; Flynn, Asher; Wild, Abby (25 August 2021). "The Batty Effect: Victim-Survivors and Domestic and Family Violence Policy Change". Violence Against Women. 28 (6–7): 1684–1707. doi:10.1177/10778012211024266. ISSN 1077-8012. PMID 34431729. S2CID 237292973.
  10. ^ "Outgoing Australian of the Year Rosie Batty's legacy". ABC News. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Rosemary Anne BATTY". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  12. ^ "2019 Queen's Birthday Honours full list: Companions, Officers, Members, Medals, Meritorious and Military". The Canberra Times. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  13. ^ Jonathan Pearlman (4 June 2014). "British mother of son beaten to death by cricket bat leads campaign against domestic violence". Telegraph. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d Harari, Fiona (29 November 2014). "Mother courage: Rosie Batty's life after Luke". Good Weekend, The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  15. ^ a b c Davey, Melissa (2 November 2014). "Luke Batty: killed by a father no one truly knew". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  16. ^ Batty, Rosie (2015). A Mother's Story. HarperCollins. ISBN 9781460705100.
  17. ^ a b "Rosie Batty reveals her battle to stop killer Dad Greg Anderson's violence before son Luke's death". Herald Sun.
  18. ^ a b Hurley, David; Dowling, James (22 February 2014). "Making of Greg Anderson into the monster who killed his son, little Luke Batty". Herald Sun.
  19. ^ Davey, Melissa (21 October 2014). "Rosie Batty hits back at questions about her actions before son Luke's murder". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  20. ^ Davey, Melissa (22 October 2014). "Luke Batty's killer, Greg Anderson, was 'bad, not mad', police tell inquest". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  21. ^ "Small town in shock after father kills 11yo son on cricket oval". ABC News. ABC (Australia). 12 February 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  22. ^ "Luke Batty's mother Rosie urges overhaul to prevent children's deaths". The Age. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  23. ^ Singer, Melissa (15 February 2014). "Charity to mark Luke Batty's tragic death". The Age. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  24. ^ "Luke Batty Foundation". Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  25. ^ "Rosie Batty blasts Studio 10 host Joe Hildebrand on morning TV". news.com.au. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  26. ^ Allard, Tom Rosie Batty takes on Malcolm Turnbull over detention centres: 'They must be shut down' 2 October 2015 Sydney Morning Herald
  27. ^ Akerman, Pia (20 January 2015). "Australian of the year: Rosie Batty, a voice of family violence". The Australian. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  28. ^ Batty, Rosie (21 January 2015). "Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty welcomes Victorian royal commission" (Streaming audio; transcript). ABC Radio National Breakfast (Interview). Interviewed by Hamish Macdonald. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  29. ^ Matthers, Tracey (31 July 2016). "Royal commission report delivered to Government House". Royal Commission into Family Violence.
  30. ^ "Royal Commission into Family Violence Report" (PDF). Royal Commission into Family Violence. March 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  31. ^ "Rosie Batty calls on Peter Dutton to allow woman who killed abusive husband to stay in Australia". ABC News. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  32. ^ "A Message From Rosie: Some Time Out Of The Public Eye – Luke Batty Foundation". lbf.joshs.space. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  33. ^ "Rosie Batty resigns, Luke Batty Foundation to wind down operations". ABC News. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  34. ^ "USC to award Honorary Doctorate to Rosie Batty". My Sunshine Coast. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  35. ^ "Rosie Batty". Fortune. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  36. ^ "Rosie inspires top artwork". Forbes Advocate. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  37. ^ Patten, Sally (17 October 2018). "Women of Influence 2018 winner fights for recognition of Indigenous Australians". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  38. ^ Butler, Josh (11 October 2023). "Australian of the Year winners sign open letter saying no vote in voice referendum would be a 'shameful dead end'". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  39. ^ Winter, Velvet (10 October 2023). "Voice referendum live updates: Australians of the Year Yes vote letter in full". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 11 October 2023.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rosie Batty.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Australian of the Year
2015 		Succeeded by
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