Rachael Hambleton

Rachael Hambleton has a long-standing commitment to supporting community initiatives concerned with challenging systems of oppression. She has worked at, volunteered with and/or served on the board of a range of civil society organisations, including: Victorian Women’s Trust, Reichstein Foundation, the Human Rights Law Centre, Justice Connect, Refugee Legal, Eastern Health Foundation, GiveOUT, Lawyers For Animals, the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby (now known as Victorian Pride Lobby) and Reprieve Australia (now known as Capital Punishment Justice Project). She is currently working on a project that aims to strengthen advocacy for criminal justice reform in Australia, known as The Justice Map, and is also a board member of Flat Out.

Articles by Rachael Hambleton:

Published in Overland Issue 245 Summer 2021 · Family

Perpetrators

Rachael Hambleton

In the spring of 2019, my dad’s most recent partner called as I was heading out my front door. They’d been dating on and off throughout the year and we’d met once, about a month prior. I couldn’t recall having saved her phone number, but sure enough there was her first name with ‘Dad’s Partner’ in the Company field. Primed for disappointment, I slung my bag over one shoulder, cradled my mobile in the other and answered with a curt ‘what’s happening?’ as I pulled the door shut. She asked how I was, then shifted quickly from the incident to her wishes for his remains, the funeral home, the ceremony.