With tears in her voice, Queensland MP Ros Bates revealed to parliament her experience of growing up in a violent home.
The speech, in support of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection and Another Act Amendment Bill, detailed a harrowing upbringing as the middle daughter of a drunk and violent father.
“The middle daughter remembers standing behind her father, who was wielding the red knife. She remembers picking up the metal extension of the vacuum cleaner and saying, ‘You kill Mum and you’re next’.
“And with that she was thrown up against a wall and given a black eye—and it would not be the last time. She was seven.”
The speech, delivered to a near empty chamber in the Queensland parliament on December 3, was then posted on Bates’ Facebook page.
Watch Ros Bates speech here:
It has since been viewed over 54,000 times and Bates has been flooded with support from the public.
Top Comments
I applaud her courage in revealing this to support worthwhile legislation. I do wish thought that she could reach the point of being free of apologising for her parents' faults and culpability: it's a very damaging fiction.
Unlike Barb I did leave taking my 2 and 4 year old with me, but t even as adults they still wear the scars of their early years. I am thankful that my youngest two girls are growing up with a Dad that truly loves them enough to never hurt them or their mother.