November 2003

Website provides advice and support

Bursting the Bubble is a new website developed specifically for young people experiencing family violence.

Almost a quarter of teenagers in Australia have witnessed an incident of physical violence against their mother or stepmother.

Many have also experienced direct abuse from family members.

Until now there have been no comprehensive or current Australian resources available for young people living with family violence.

‘We get taught about drugs and stuff, but we don’t get told much about family problems, ’ said one teenager involved in the web design.

‘A friend got bashed by her stepdad and none of us knew how to handle it.

‘This site helps us know what to do.

‘I do know that childhood was a dangerous place and that we are lucky to be alive,’ said Deborah Light, Bulletin journalist and survivor of family violence.

She joined child rights and child protection campaigner Dr Chris Goddard of Monash University to launch the website.

Domestic Violence and Incest (DVIRC) Coordinator Virginia Geddes said teenagers were increasingly turning to the internet for their information.

‘Often teenagers wonder whether what’s happening in their family is normal or not,’ she said.

This website uses quizzes and other innovative resources to help young people recognise abuse or domestic violence—and then seek help to address it.’

‘Violence in the home is more common than we think,’ wrote a 17-year-old girl to the Bubble website

‘The website showed me that other people experience abuse too, and it made me feel that I wasn’t alone.’