Former World No.4 tennis champion Jelena Dokic has shared her powerful story of survival at Manningham's International Women's Day breakfast.
Jelena, who has pivoted into a highly successful career as a commentator, speaker and author of 2 best-selling books - Unbreakable and Fearless, was the keynote speaker at our annual event on Monday 2 March to mark International Women's Day, which is on Sunday 8 March 2026.
This year's United Nations Australia theme is 'Balance the Scales', a promise that every woman and girl - regardless of background or identity - should be safe, heard and free to shape their own lives.
Jelena Dokic embodies resilience and triumph. As a tennis player, she made the semi finals of Wimbledon at age 17, and was a doubles Grand Slam finalist at 18. But behind the scenes, she endured adversity including years of abuse from her father, as well as racism and bullying.
At the breakfast, Jelena detailed her journey of survival to finding her voice and using it to support and advocate for others.
She said she wanted to be a leader and change-maker, and to stop the judgement, shame and stigma surrounding domestic violence and mental health challenges.
"I'm sharing my story and lived experience to help someone else," Jelena said. "You can survive and thrive.
"We need more open conversations that lead to change," Jelena said.
At Manningham we work alongslide partners such as the Victoria Police and Doncare to strengthen prevention, improve access to support services and promote equality across our community and workplace.
Inspector Carlie Kohler, of Victoria Police, and Kylie Scouller, Chief Executive Officer of Doncare, joined Jelena for a panel conversation. The event went beyond reflection, focussing on practical action, local support pathways and the role we can all play in creating safer communities.
The panel spoke about the supports that are available locally, what more needs to be done and how we all have the power to make a difference - whether it's simply listening and providing emotional support, or calling issues out and making reports to police - even anonymously.
We have information on a range of wellbeing support services available to Manningham residents. Visit our Find Support page.
