AN audience of about 20 people at Katherine Civic Centre fell silent on Tuesday as guest speaker Ivan Phillips gave a vivid account of his family’s horrific experience with domestic violence.
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Mr Phillips had stopped at Katherine, where he also spoke at Eastside Football Club, on his Ride for DV motorcycle trip around Australia.
He told listeners that in January 2007, his stepdaughter Tash was found dead in her Adelaide home.
The injuries she sustained were so severe, her body was barely identifiable.
After two years of court proceedings, Tash’s former partner Edward Yost was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Shortly after Yost’s conviction, Mr Phillips’ wife Di died as a result of brain cancer.
“I have absolutely no doubt in my mind Tash’s passing had directly contributed to Di’s brain cancer,” Mr Phillips said.
Determined to start the conversation about domestic violence, Mr Phillips decided to pack up his motorbike with the bare essentials and travel 15,000 kilometres around Australia, sharing his story.
Mr Phillips said that in addition to creating awareness of domestic violence the trip had also helped him come to to terms with the situation.
“Inside that helmet there’s a lot of time to think,” he said.
“I think this time next year I won’t want to tell the story again.”
According to White Ribbon Foundation, one Australian woman is killed every week in relation to intimate partner violence.
More than 60 per cent of assault offences in the Northern Territory are associated with domestic violence and 82 per cent of the victims are women.
Eastside coach Greg Bain said Mr Phillips’ story captivated the entire team.
“When we heard Ivan’s story it pretty well blew the whole team away,” he said.
“Just listening to his story, I don’t think anyone flinched through it, it’s just an amazing story and a heartbreaking story.”
Mr Phillips said he was particularly impressed with the Eastside team members, who stopped after training to hear his story.
“One of the main drives of this ride is the White Ribbon campaign – the target cohort is young males,” he said.
“We can potentially influence them with talk about domestic violence – make them aware of the White Ribbon cause and what it stands for.”
The Eastside Football Club donated a shirt and jumper to Mr Phillips before he headed for Douglas Daly and Darwin.
To keep up with Mr Phillips’ journey, watch the Riding Free of DV Facebook page.
