Maya Sabattini, a UWA Bachelor of Commerce student, helped the Naala Djookan Healing Centre in Mirrabooka tackle domestic violence during her recent internship through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship.
Maya’s primary project was enhancing the service’s social media channels.
“The most important part of this project was ensuring that our platform was being used effectively to educate women about the warning signs of domestic violence and inform them of resources that are available to them if they are in a violent relationship,” Maya said.
“Creating a safe and educational space on social media that provides women experiencing family and domestic violence with resources is critical for preventing violence within our community,
“Before completing my internship at Naala Djookan, I knew that family and domestic violence was a widespread and pervasive problem, but after meeting many women and hearing about their experiences I was able to put a face to the statistics,”
Elizabeth Richards, Maya’s internship supervisor at Naala Djookan Healing Centre, which is operated by the City of Stirling, said that Maya has been a highly valued intern.
“Our specialised focus is on how to work with women and children that are experiencing family domestic violence, not necessarily how this information can be translated onto social media,
“Maya was able to bring together the information with the style required for these platforms,” she said.
“Maya has also been happy to provide ongoing support to our team on monthly volunteer basis, as we continue to create meaningful content online so that more women can be informed about our service in a safe and appropriate way,”
Maya said that the experience of interning at Naala Djookan had helped her develop professionally and personally.
“Completing an internship with a community organisation increases your overall awareness of societal issues and provides you with an avenue to implement change that will really benefit people.”