Knocking out a left write hook

A ONE-off public screening of a documentary following the journey of eight survivors of childhood sexual abuse taking part in a trauma-recovery program will be held this month.

Left Write Hook was titled after a program that combined creative writing with no-contact boxing to support survivors of CSA and other forms of gendered violence, and complex trauma.

“The idea really came about through my own recovery journey, using writing as a modality to begin processing my trauma, and finding boxing as an outlet for this anger I was feeling,” producer Donna Lyon said.

“At first I thought I was just going to punch a bag and let it all out but I quickly realised that boxing was an incredible form of mindfulness and I absolutely fell in love with it.”

Ms Lyon founded the Left Write Hook charity which has, to date, connected more than 120 victim-survivor participants with the flagship eight week program.

“Part of the reason we’re screening the documentary with Q and A sessions is to talk about the effect of trauma and how it impacts our bodies, our relationships, and our lives,” she said.

“We need people in society who may not have been personally impacted by this issue to engage, because chances are they’re going to know somebody who has.

“People don’t want to talk about it because it’s uncomfortable, but having these difficult conversations is the beginning of being able to stop this kind of abuse from happening.

“It’s a powerful story, even though it’s difficult it’s also really triumphant, there’s a lot of strength and hope to it and we hope the Mildura community will get behind it, because we want to spread the word and get more programs running.”

Left Write Hook will be screening at Wallis Cinemas on Monday, May 12, with tickets available on Humanitix, with a program for victim-survivors set to run in Mildura in July.