Key Facts:
- Former tennis champion Jelena Dokic delivered the keynote address at World Vision Australia's International Day of the Girl parliamentary breakfast at Parliament House in Canberra, attended by senior political figures including Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong and Deputy Opposition Leader Senator Jane Hume.
- As ambassador for World Vision Australia's 1,000 Girls campaign, Dokic is calling on Australians to sponsor 1,000 vulnerable girls by International Day of the Girl on 11 October.
- Dokic recently travelled to Bangladesh with World Vision, where she met girls facing child marriage, gender-based violence and barriers to education, including Ruby, who was married at just 12 years old.
- Having spoken publicly about her own childhood abuse, Dokic said she felt a personal connection to the girls' stories and pledged to use her platform to ensure their voices are heard by Australia's most influential leaders.
- Globally, a girl is forced into child marriage every three seconds, 122 million girls are out of school, and almost one in three women and girls will experience violence in their lifetime; Australians can support the campaign at worldvision.com.au/sponsor-a-girl or by calling 13 32 40.
After fighting for years to reclaim her own voice, Jelena Dokic has taken it to Canberra to speak up for vulnerable girls whose voices often go unheard. Today, former tennis champion, bestselling author, commentator and Logie winner Jelena Dokic stepped onto a new court - Parliament House - taking the stories of girls she met in Bangladesh directly to some of Australia's most influential political and international development leaders. Jelena delivered the keynote address at World Vision Australia's International Day of the Girl parliamentary breakfast, which brought together senior women from across Parliament, government and diplomacy. Among those in attendance were Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong and Deputy Opposition Leader Senator Jane Hume. For Jelena, this is a deeply personal mission. As ambassador for World Vision Australia's 1,000 Girls campaign, Jelena is calling on Australians to sponsor 1,000 vulnerable girls by International Day of the Girl on 11 October. She recently returned from what she describes as a 'life-changing' trip to Bangladesh with World Vision, where she met girls and young women facing child marriage, gender-based violence and barriers to education. One story hit particularly close to home. Ruby was married at just 12 and became a mother while still a child herself. Their lives may be worlds apart, but hearing Ruby's story struck an intensely personal chord with Jelena. Having spoken publicly about the abuse she experienced as a child, she recognised something painfully familiar - what it feels like to be a young girl without control over the decisions shaping your life. Jelena took Ruby's story, and those of the other girls she met, into Parliament House. "I'm incredibly proud to be an ambassador for World Vision's 1,000 Girls campaign and to have the opportunity to bring the stories of the girls I met in Bangladesh into Parliament House." Jelena said. "I sat with these girls, listened to what they had been through and saw their courage and determination. I promised myself I would use my voice to help make sure their stories are heard. "To stand in front of some of Australia's most influential leaders and speak up for those girls is a responsibility I don't take lightly. They deserve to be safe, to be educated and to have the freedom to choose their own futures." But today, Jelena's message was not only about the confronting realities facing vulnerable girls. She returned from Bangladesh with a powerful sense of hope after seeing what can happen when girls have access to education, understand their rights and have people willing to stand beside them. "I saw incredible strength and hope in the girls and young women I met." Jelena said. "These girls are not defined by what has happened to them. With education, support and someone in their corner, they can create very different futures." Globally, a girl is forced into child marriage every three seconds, 122 million girls are out of school, and almost one in three women and girls will experience violence in their lifetime. World Vision Australia CEO Grant Bayldon said Jelena was taking an important message from the girls she met in Bangladesh directly to Australia's leaders. "Behind every statistic is a girl with a name, a dream and enormous potential. "Keeping a girl safe and in school can fundamentally change the direction of her life, and that impact can extend across her family and community." Australians can support World Vision's 1,000 Girls campaign and help give vulnerable girls the opportunity to stay safe, stay in school and choose their own futures. Sponsor a girl at worldvision.com.au/sponsor-a-girl or call 13 32 40.
