Launch of Brian Injury Awareness Week at Our Big Kitchen

Rabbi Dovid Slavin, Ron Hoenig MP, Cr Charles Teo AM

I was delighted to attend the launch of Brain Injury Awareness Week 2015 that was launched in NSW jointly by Brain Injury and Our Big Kitchen.

In 2015 the week turns its attentions to a neglected minority of survivors of traumatic brain injury, Particularly women - for whom assault is a much more common cause of brain injury than for men. In Australia, 1 woman is killed by her current or former partner every week.

What happens to those who survive?

The launch heard from Dr Charles Teo AM, neurosurgeon and Director of the Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery at Price of Wales Hospital, Nick Rushworth, Executive Officer of Brain Injury Australia, Rabbi Dovid Slavin, himself a survivor and Rebecca Sciroli a survivor.

Rebecca such an impressive young lady told of her horrendous attack by her step father with a claw hammer to the head and her long road to survival and her daily fight against spasticity. 

One in three woman who present with head injury in Australia are victims of Domestic Violence. As Dr Teo told the launch; any injury to the brain is never repaired. The brain is the only organ that cannot repair itself. Domestic Violence is just the most insidious form of head injury. Society has been far too slow in addressing this violent and aggressive behaviour in the home. So much of this injury is unreported. Early intervention and access to support services and government funding is urgently required.