Since 2022, National Survivors Day has been acknowledged to support those impacted by Sexual Assault and Institutional Abuse by working together with the Loud Fence ribbon-tying movement which was born in Ballarat circa 2015.

Despite the threat of rain on the day, our charity brought out its folding chairs and water bottles, set up the shelter and tied our ribbons to the fence of The Shack Community Centre at Nambour.

The rain held off, and the people came. For two hours we mingled with faces both new and familiar, including some that were already working in this space through volunteering. It was wonderful to see our local community come together on this day, each to tie their ribbon to The Shack fence and support and strengthen the work of survivors, and to raise awareness about child sexual abuse.

We would like to thank and acknowledge Dale Dowler from The Shack for supporting Gateway to Freedom Within Inc and providing the venue for which to host our National Survivors Day event. We would also like to thank the ABC Radio journalists for their generous coverage both in the leadup and on the day. And of course, thanks to all the volunteers that aided in the leadup and who attended on the day.

Overall, it was a wonderful and worthwhile event. We are also pleased and encouraged to say that we had many enquiries about joining our upcoming peer support group events. Let’s keep the momentum going!!

The Gateway Clan