Helen Heslop

These artworks trace the ‘abuse cycle’ in intimate partner relationships. Using the language of quilting and the material of paint swatches, these works shed light on women’s lived experience of coercive control. ‘Dark Silhouette’ is a charcoal-grey house-paint and the colour evokes a sense of being watched - of something menacing nearby. While the stories in this work are written in first person, they do not form an autobiography. They have been gathered from many women’s stories shared publicly in articles, books and social media posts.

The Form replicates questions from Counselling Service intake form. Survivors will often be referred to community services for support, after separation from their abuser. What starts as a simple bureaucratic intake form soon becomes a triggering, re-traumatising nightmare as victims are forced to relive the worst moments in their lives as they attempt to answer the questions. Women’s outrage is expressing through the quilted stitches on the form, but the underlying emotion is futility and resignation. As women, we are conditioned to accept the process and not rock the boat. Forms provide that authority, where we must comply and respond truthfully and completely, even to our own detriment.

I can’t do this. This government form is a weapon. The Child Support Agency Change of Assessment process requires this form and its attachments to be given to the other parent. In a domestic violence situation, this amounts to the victim providing key details of her new life on a platter, enabling the perpetrator to weaponise her data and further abuse, manipulate or stalk her. The onus is on the victim to assess the potential risk to her safety of this information in the perpetrators hands. If she refuses to fill in the form, then she is denied a timely reassessment of the child support payment. Often this results in having to wait for years for the payments to be reconciled through the tax system and forgoing access to $1000s for her children.

The missing middle in family law. This quilt was inspired by an article by Kate Lyons in the Guardian. Lyons draws attention to the significant numbers of victims of domestic violence, who cannot access the family law system. The Family Law Act is designed to “ensure that the best interests of children are met, including by ensuring their safety” [Sect 60B (a)] but how can this occur if women are financially excluded by earning too much for a LegalAid grant but too little to afford the $100,000s in private representation. These women escaping family violence face dire circumstances. As a society, why do we place such little value on supporting women and children fleeing domestic violence?