It is with many mixed feelings that I finish up my time with Empowered Together this week. I miss will the work and our amazing volunteers terribly but overwhelmingly, I feel proud of all that we have accomplished and excited to cheer on the next group of leaders as they move
Empowered Together forward.
Empowered Together started with frustration felt by a group of us at university who were learning about sex and consent for the first time
when studying criminal law. Why were we not taught this in school? Why is practical and honest education on sex and relationships not a pillar of our schooling alongside maths and English? It was with great determination and passion (and yes some naivety) that a group of us at university decided to turn our negative experiences with sex and consent into a youth led organisation with the aim of facilitating better experiences for the next generations. We wanted to empower them with knowledge by facilitating open and vulnerable conversations and work alongside schools to keep this education going.
I will forever be grateful to the schools that took a chance on us and partnered with us to codesign these workshops with their students. We
have had the privilege of facilitating workshops on consent and sexting with thousands of students. We have published a textbook chapter on respectful relationships which is used across schools in Australia. We have expanded our reach into universities, created an online presence in our community, and joined like-minded organisations in advocating for broader change. But most of all, I am proud of the community we have created of past, current, and future volunteers and students. Driven, passionate, and ambitious young people who have embodied our commitment to the peer led primary prevention of sexual violence. Aside from their contribution through Empowered Together, our volunteers have gone on to do amazing things in their community as we work together towards a future free of sexual violence.
I now join this community of past volunteers and it is a wonderful community to join. I take this opportunity to thank all of those I have worked with at Empowered Together. I thank Ryan Ward for being my partner in crime and my close friend; for challenging me, inspiring me,
and growing with me. I congratulate Courtney Aarons for being chosen as the new CEO and have no doubt that she will do an absolutely amazing job. Most of all, I thank all of those who had faith in us, supported us, and have joined us in watching Empowered Together move from a dream we had to something that is now ready to exist without us.
Never doubt the power of young people. I am inspired everyday by our volunteers and the students that we work with, and know that I will continue to be as the new leaders of Empowered Together lead it into its next chapter.