Left Write Hook Bendigo: Information session

Name: Left Write Hook Bendigo: Information session
Start: 2026-05-20T04:00:00-0400
End: 2026-05-20T05:00:00-0400

Wed, 20 May, 4am - 5am EDT

Online Event

Left Write Hook

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Description

Left Write Hook is coming to Bendigo this July.

Left Write Hook is an eight-week, survivor-led program for women and gender-diverse survivors of childhood sexual abuse or gendered violence.

The program combines creative writing and non-contact boxing in a trauma-aware, peer-led environment.

By taking part in Left Write Hook, you will have the opportunity to rebuild confidence, explore your voice and reconnect with your body in a safe and supportive environment.

This online information session is a chance to learn more about the program and decide if it feels right for you.

You will hear from founder Dr Donna Lyon, learn how the program works, and have the opportunity to ask questions in a supportive, private and low-pressure space.

This session is open to anyone considering the program, as well as supporters, practitioners and community members who would like to learn more.

You will not be asked or expected to disclose any personal information about your trauma or lived experience.

If you are curious, unsure, or simply want more information before applying, this is a good place to start.

Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity

Hostinformation

Left Write Hook

143 followers

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Left Write Hook is a research informed 8-week boxing and writing workshop for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and trauma. The program is designed to empower survivors to take back their power through the physical and creative expressive processes of boxing and writing.

The program was founded by Donna Lyon, PhD, in 2019 at her local boxing gym, FitLife, in Ferntree Gully, Melbourne, Victoria, borne out of her lived experience as a survivor and a fighter.

In 2020, Lyon took the program to the University of Melbourne, whereby she teamed up with a group of interdisciplinary researchers to measure the efficacy of the program. The results demonstrated that the Left Write Hook reduced symptoms of PTSD, depression, stress, and anxiety, while increasing personal agency, resilience, and a sense of belonging. This research brought together a psychologist, gender expert, filmmaker & survivor, with the intention of studying the effects of the program, making a documentary film and producing a book.

Due to COVID, the face-to-face workshops that began in the gym shifted online. Across 2020, Lyon facilitated three workshops, organised by eight-week rounds. She pitched the idea of co-curating a book of the writings generated from the workshops to the group of participants and in 2021, Loving Healing Press, USA came on board as the publisher. Read more about the book.

Donna Lyon and filmmaker/researcher Shannon Owen then turned their attention to the documentary, which has become a model for participatory filmmaking collaboration between the filmmaking team and the project participant/collaborators. The film attracted development funding from VicScreen and secured a production company partnership with Sweetshop & Green to help develop and take the film to market. Through this collaboration, the team received production funding from Screen Australia, VicScreen, University of Melbourne, Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund, and distribution from Bonsai Films. Find out more about the documentary.

In 2022, Donna Lyon set up Left Write Hook as a not-for-profit company so that she could begin to run more workshops for survivors.

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Wed, 20 May, 4am - 5am EDT

Online Event

Hosted by Left Write Hook

Left Write Hook Bendigo: Information session

Description

Left Write Hook is coming to Bendigo this July.

Register

Register