Your right to safe, cultural support
Knowmore is a free and confidential legal service. We give legal advice and support to people who have survived child sexual abuse. We acknowledge that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have also experienced intergenerational trauma from government child removal policies. At Knowmore, we will work with you in a culturally safe and trauma-informed way.
We are separate to government and will keep your information private. Knowmore is a safe place for you to tell us what happened.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement team
If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, you can speak with one of our Aboriginal Engagement Advisors. They’re here to help you, arrange other support options for you or just have a yarn. We have male and female Aboriginal Engagement Advisors based in Adelaide, Darwin, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. Call 1800 605 762 to arrange to speak with an Aboriginal Engagement Advisor in your nearest office.
We acknowledge that not all Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people may want to speak with an Aboriginal Engagement Advisor. If so, we may arrange for you to speak with a non-Aboriginal member of our Support Services team. You have the right to decide on your journey with Knowmore.
Meet Aunty Glendra
Aunty Glendra Stubbs is a Wiradjuri woman and is Knowmore’s first Elder In Residence. She has been supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients since Knowmore began in 2013. In this video, Aunty Glendra shares her story about working at Knowmore and supporting her clients on their journey.
Read the video transcription
Interview with Knowmore’s Auntie Glendra Stubbs
DESCRIPTION: On a grey background, the Knowmore logo. Logo text, with the letters K and W in teal and the phrase “no more” in white: Knowmore, free legal help for survivors. White text on black: Over a quarter of Knowmore’s clients identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. A woman stands on a street.
AUNTIE GLENDRA STUBBS: Aboriginal people have had a lot of harm done to them. And to tell their story again comes at a cost.
DESCRIPTION: Looking skywards, she stands in front of a statue of a woman. Text: Glendra Stubbs. She sits in a house and speaks to camera.
AUNTIE GLENDRA STUBBS: I’m Auntie Glendra Stubbs. My Aboriginal name is Galiindurra, which means ‘peaceful waters’.
DESCRIPTION: She walks down the street, past a row of terrace houses.
AUNTIE GLENDRA STUBBS: I am a Wiradjuri woman. I’ve been working at Knowmore since the beginning. I have a list of things that I need to have addressed before I put my hand up to work somewhere. And those three criteria are integrity, making a difference and doing no more harm.
DESCRIPTION: Auntie Glendra looks at a piece of handprint art taped to the wall.
AUNTIE GLENDRA STUBBS: When I found out that it was going to be wraparound services, so it wasn’t just going to be, “tell your story and get out of here”, it was going to be, you know, respectfully and culturally sensitive, I thought, “Yeah, this is where I want to be”.
DESCRIPTION: White text on black: Knowmore’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team works nationally to ensure cultural sensitivity. In a kitchen, Auntie Glendra pours water from a kettle into a mug, then takes a sip of her drink.
AUNTIE GLENDRA STUBBS: My role at Knowmore has been Aboriginal Engagement Advisor, which means engaging with Aboriginal people to be in a place to tell their story, the stuff that had happened to them in institutions, in a safe, cultural way.
DESCRIPTION: Two photos of Auntie Glendra with Knowmore’s Dean Bell and another individual appear onscreen.
AUNTIE GLENDRA STUBBS: There are a big number of Aboriginal people that have come forward. So people are supported gently through this process and given advice about which way they should go.
DESCRIPTION: Auntie Glendra goes to the front door and walks down another suburban street.
AUNTIE GLENDRA STUBBS: People can expect when they come to Knowmore to be listened to, to be respected, to have their story and their account of what’s happened in their life. And storytelling is really important in our community. We have people here that have cultural knowledge and can help you along your journey.
DESCRIPTION: A montage of scenes: a stained glass panel with a calling kookaburra pattern, the Redfern Park gates, a clock tower.
AUNTIE GLENDRA STUBBS: This has given people justice and a voice to the voiceless, who have been controlled and managed and not listened to, now have the things that have been missing in their life come together. They will have someone that believes their account of what’s happened in their life. It’s a personal journey for a lot of us Aboriginal staff.
DESCRIPTION: White text on black: To receive free legal advice and support please contact us at 1800 605 762, Knowmore.org.au.
Help and support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
To speak to someone at Knowmore about what happened to you, please call us on 1800 605 762.
If you would like more information, you can read our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander publications below. You can read more about legal issues for survivors of child sexual abuse and information for Stolen Generations survivors.
