Jelena Dokic speaks at Jewish Care

Jewish Care Victoria held its New Friends of Monte annual lunch at Leonda on May 14, featuring a keynote address by former tennis superstar Jelena Dokic.

A two-time refugee, Dokic shared the bullying and racism she experienced as well as 15 years of her father’s emotional and physical abuse. Her father’s abuse began when she started playing tennis at the age of six and continued as she played at the highest levels – reaching world number 4.

Dokic shared she feared losing because it would result in his physical and verbal abuse, and after being defeated at Wimbledon her father refused to let her return to their hotel. The trauma led her to a breaking point at 22 – battling depression, anxiety and PTSD, and leading to her retirement from tennis.

Only when she was able to break free of her father’s control and share her true story was she able to reclaim her power. She has since released two best-selling books, Unbreakable and Fearless and an award-winning documentary.

Dokic is a respected sports commentator and an inspirational speaker who inspires others who have faced hardship to find their voice.

She began her address at Jewish Care with the shocking words she said were repeated by her father almost daily, “Don’t you dare say anything to anyone or I will kill you.”

“I was taught, trained and raised to stay silent. In silence, darkness thrives. The power of child abuse, domestic violence, mental health struggles, bullying, racism is our silence,” she said.

“[I am ] a number four tennis player, a Grand Slam singles semi-finalist, a Grand Slam doubles finalist, now a commentator, presenter, speaker, two-time best-selling author and a subject of a new number one Netflix documentary, but actually … none of those are my biggest highlights and achievements, because my biggest highlight and achievement was finding my voice through sharing my story. Why? Because it literally saved my life. I would not be here today if I didn’t share my story. Today, I try and use my voice to call out injustice, to advocate for change, but most importantly, to try and normalise the conversation around really important issues in sport and our society, and even more importantly, to try and help remove some of that judgement, shame and stigma that’s so often associated with talking about really important issues. This is a story of going from victim to survivor, but most importantly, thriver.”

The event fundraised for Jewish Care which supports some of our most vulnerable community members in aged care, as well as mental health services including around antisemitism, housing, employment support, financial counselling, family violence services and crisis care.

Jewish Care Victoria’s Debra Kiven stated at the lunch, “Last year alone, Jewish Care safely housed 145 families and individuals, delivered … hundreds of psychology sessions, and responded to more than 10,000 calls for assistance. Behind every one of those numbers is a human story, a person who needed support, a family looking for hope, someone who needed to know they were not alone.”

To support visit jewishcare.org.au