Vicarious trauma is an issue that affects up to 85% of ‘helping professions’ according to expert Olga Phoenix. For lawyers in particular, Steven Doumit, a criminal solicitor for Legal Aid, says that employee assistant programs and debriefing procedures are currently implemented. However, Magistrate David Heilpern who publicly addressed his own experience […]
Author: Cheryl Till
The Trouble with Justice
by Cheryl Till When Magistrate David Heilpern first spoke about his experience with vicarious trauma at a Tristan Jepson Memorial Foundation (TJMF) annual lecture last October, he did not expect his picture to end up on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald. “I think this must have really hit a nerve,” Heilpern said. […]
Weaving Her Own Story
By Pema Bakshi and Cheryl Till In a world where fashion moves at the speed of light, Jaslyn Swavley sits peacefully with her worn knitting needles in a handmade getup. Raised on the North Shore, she is the calmest 19-year-old and it is infectious. Donning a breezy floral dress and makeup-free skin, the UNSW student […]