Survivor sings from the heart — Albany musician Simone Keane bravely opens up about domestic violence journey

Simone Keane is a different person these days. Her revival days. An Albany success story, Keane is an award-winning singer-songwriter, artist and teacher. She is also a survivor of domestic violence. In an overheated hatchback with her guitar and the clothes on her back, Keane found herself in the Great Southern in the summer of 2005, escaping a violent partner. More than a decade earlier, at 21, Keane was in a hospital emergency room getting her head stitched back together after being attacked by her boyfriend. “It got to a point where it was life-threatening,” she said. “I ended up in a women’s refuge after midnight one night. “I decided from that point on, that my life was more important than keeping him happy. “You end up just waiting until it’s your life in the balance and if you are lucky enough to escape, you escape. “Victims of intimate partner violence rarely see a way out if practical help is not forthcoming, if they feel socially isolated or think it is their fault. “A lot of people say ‘why don’t you just leave?’ It’s not as simple as that.” Keane is not alone. In Australia, family and domestic violence is a scourge society just cannot shake. Australian women are nearly three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner. On average, one woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner. But it was through her recovery that Keane found solace and success in music. In 2006, just a year after her life hung in the balance at the hands of a violent partner, Keane released her first album, Moon Tunes. This was followed by her second album, Burning, from which two tracks won awards at the WA Music Song of the Year in 2010. She is now working on her fifth album. Fuelled by her own experience of survival, Keane will perform her latest song, Just Fine, for the first time next Friday at the Reclaim the Night event in Albany Town Square. Told from the perspective of survivors, her latest offering is a powerful rock song — a first for the folk singer. She said she hoped the song would empower other women who might feel trapped in a violent relationship to take back their lives. “It is coming from a voice of power, of fearlessness,” she said. “There is a line saying ‘I won’t be blinded by your gaslight. I need to survive’.” Keane said by sharing her story publicly, she hoped to shatter the shame and stigma felt by victims of family and domestic violence. “I'm a different person in my post-survival days, or I should call it ‘revival days’,” she said. “The first step is escaping and finding the right support — real, practical support. There are some exceptionally strong, inspirational people out there. “This year’s Reclaim is focusing on how bystanders can safely help victims — potentially lifesaving advice. People have turned a blind eye to it for too long. “Unless people are willing to help and report these things and never give up on somebody, more women and children will die. “I am not going to hide what happened to me and I want other people to know that they need to speak out. It is their right.”