As we celebrate International Women's Day and head off to our various events, consider the theme for this year. #Embraceequity.

I see equity not as something we need to embrace as a nice to have, but as a fundamental human right.

We shouldn’t have to fight for equity, or justify it, it should be a given. Equity is about the financial, emotional, and physical safety of women.  

When we consider the safety of women in Australia Simone O'Brien's story is one we all need to hear. She is one of the most courageous person we know

In 2012, Simone suffered a horrific domestic violence attack at the hands of an individual who would not take no for an answer.

 It started with emotional and psychological abuse, stealing, and insults and It ended with Simone being beaten with a baseball bat to within inches of her life.

She has lost eyesight in her right eye and her sense of smell, her skull is currently held together with screws and titanium plates and  The ripple effect on her children has been unimaginable.

Simone however is a very determined woman and with the support of family, friends, doctors and nurses and multiple ongoing operations she today shares her journey, and raises the awareness of domestic violence

She hopes to give victims strength to get out of violent relationships

We talk to Simone about red flags, what we should be on the lookout for, not ignore them and maybe chose to remove ourselves from that situation.

Simone hopes to have at a national level what in the UK is known as Clare’s Law which is about domestic violence disclosure.

Today in Australia  on average 1 woman a week is killed in Australia by her current or former partner

Over 60% of women experiencing violence from a current partner are working

1 in 6 women have experienced abuse before the age of 15

This is an issue we all need to be involved in, to understand better, to push for change so  that it is not left up to the victims and survivors  to make a difference