Quiet Revolution: Chrystina Stanford

Posted on 15 December, 2015

For our third magazine, the ‘Hidden Issue’, we wanted to shine the light on Canberra women on the forefront of social justice in our city. 

They’re the women bravely leading the charge against Canberra’s big issues: issues that while many are uncomfortable to talk about, are reaching devastating proportions in our city. With rising suicide, drug use and domestic violence rates, these women are fighting to ensure their cause doesn’t become another overlooked statistic. Meet six leaders starting their own quiet revolution.

In person Chrystina Stanford, Chief Executive Officer of the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, cuts a diminutive figure, but her voice goes a long way.

For years she has been determined to get the public talking more openly about sexual assault and child sexual assault; arguing that discussion is “crucial” within the broader violence against women agenda.

“Child sexual assault affects one in three girls and one in six boys, and sexual violence impacts on one in four-five women across an adult life time,” she says.

“Statistically the ACT parallels other states in rates of sexual assault and child sexual assault, bearing in mind it is also a crime that is so vastly under reported. As a community we need to change our attitudes towards women so that we place more value on women and children. As long as the power imbalance that we currently have is allowed to continue, we will always see sexual violence within our community.”

As part of her role, Chrystina responds to complaints and ensures that the issue of sexual assault is visible in forums both locally and nationally as part of our framework for systemic advocacy.

The most difficult part of the job is trying to give security to the community and staff at the centre in times that are uncertain. “Each year we respond to more and more people and we reach many more than the previous year, yet despite our high levels of creativity we struggle because our resources do not expand to meet the growing demand on different areas of our agency,” she says.

Chrystina believes sexual assault is often minimised in its severity of impact because “we don’t really want to think that a person known and trusted to another adult or child could sexually assault them.”

“If we do not speak about sexual violence specifically we run the risk of silencing thousands of people in our community and it is our job to speak for those who at the time have chosen not to, or cannot speak for themselves.”

We’ll be releasing the women of Quiet Revolution’s stories individually over the coming weeks. You can read the article in full in our latest Magazine, available for free at these locations while stocks last. 

Feature image by Martin Ollman