Sonia found herself as a mother of three children in a relationship of domestic violence. She could see the patterns of abuse so clearly in those around her, but struggled to know what to do for herself. Escaping the abuse took a long time, and some help from an unexpected ally. Now Sonia is convicted that anger, hate and hurt only eat you up. She is now an outspoken advocate around issues of family and domestic violence. For Sonia, the only way is God’s love.

Dave grew up believing he would be in the army, joining the officer core as he went through uni. But when Dave turned up at a work training session and found it was just him and Alana, he immediately knew she was special and his life took a very different turn! His wife Alana never stopped praying or believing, and after a lot of time spent researching and asking questions, Dave decided he was going to let Jesus into his life. From that point on he has experienced himself being transformed; as a husband, dad and friend.

In 1981 Sandy graduated from the Victorian Police Force at the age of twenty-one. At that time women could only work in the women’s division. The general public assumed female police officers didn’t have the same authorities as males. With equal opportunity laws more women entered the police force, but not all the guys appreciated this change. Female police officers were not issued hand cuffs, or firearms. They were given a short trudgen and a handbag, and were told that if they needed to restrain a crook, to remove their pantyhose and tie them up.

A transfer from Melbourne to Bendigo in 1983 found Sandy working in ‘community policing’ with a focus on child and sexual abuse. Country policing meant that if you were the first person on the scene, you did the job. And with this ‘can-do’ mentality the small team in Bendigo became pioneers in policing family and domestic violence and abuse. They instigated domestic violence investigations as we know them today, Sandy did the very first intervention order in Australia, and another officer started a program for male offenders. They convened a national conference to discuss the lack of laws addressing family and domestic violence. The office also devised a kit for women who needed to or had escaped family violence. This kit was later funded by the Federal Government for all of Australia.

Sandy sustained faith throughout the incredible pressures and challenges of her policing career. God was always with her, tapping her on the shoulder, or guiding and protecting her in her times of greatest need.