The founder of The Aunties, a grassroots charity helping women rebuild their lives after a period of trauma, will speak at a session later this month along with a survivor of such trauma.
The event, organised by the Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival, comes on the back of Ms Clark’s book Her Say, published earlier this year, featuring a collection of stories written by women who have escaped psychologically and physically violent relationships.
When Ms Clark started The Aunties in 2013, she could never have envisaged its snowballing success.
"I had no clue where any of this was going, or any clue where it’s going now," she said.
"The idea of this has always been to meet need as it arises."
Joining Ms Clark at the session, chaired by University of Otago sociology, gender studies and criminology senior lecturer Dr Rebecca Stringer, will be "Martha", one of the contibuting writers to the book.
Ms Clark described her as "extraordinary".
"Whenever we go anywhere there’s such love in those rooms — it’s really amazing," she said.
"The more they speak, the louder they speak, the more their voice returns to them.
"The idea is any experience we can offer them, it’s all about bolstering that. That’s when the healing can start."
For those in the audience who had experienced abuse, Ms Clark hoped there would be a message of hope.
The session will take place in the Dunningham Suite of the Dunedin City Library on August 30.
Tickets cost $20 ($15 concessions), $5 of which organisers will donate to Dunedin Pride’s Alphabet Soup programme.
