Local charity Escabags supports domestic violence survivors take their first steps to freedom, providing practical help and hope

Words Erin Huckle

Images Judith Russo

What if the first step you took to freedom was the hardest? If leaving a dangerous situation was the thing that put you most at risk? Unfortunately, for victims of domestic and family abuse, the decision to leave is often the thing that makes them the most vulnerable. It’s a risk that many are too terrified to even consider taking.

For Stacy Jane, founder of Escabags, it’s a risk she sadly knows all too well. Originally from Birmingham in the UK, Stacy spent several years trapped in an abusive relationship. It wasn’t until she was on a cruise in 2019, when she was attacked by her abuser on board, that she felt leaving might actually be possible. An Australian family on the cruise took her under their wing, including Maussie who she calls her “Aussie mum”, and promised to help Stacy start a new life in Australia.

After moving to Australia, Stacy felt her mental health start to unravel. Panic attacks set-in and she was diagnosed with complex PTSD.

“I think for so long I was in survival mode and couldn’t really let myself think about what was happening. When I was diagnosed with PTSD, I needed something to focus on, to calm my nerves. I started sewing these tote bags, but at first, I didn’t know what I was going to do with them,” says Stacy.

“But then I started thinking about people who were in an abusive situation. What essentials would they need? How could I create something that stopped them from having to return to their house, and put themselves in immense danger? So basic things like shampoo, soap, tampons. The idea started from there.”

Escabags is now a national charity creating thousands of escape bags for domestic and family abuse survivors in Australia, designed to provide them with the essentials for when they’ve first escaped a dangerous situation.

“It’s about sharing stories of hope, but also empowering people to understand the language and put a name to what they might be experiencing”

— Stacy Jane

“We have bags for single adults, and also parent and child bags. Fortunately, when I escaped I didn’t have to think about a child being with me too, but many people are in that situation. So, we provide children’s books and teddy bears. Small items to hopefully help them take their mind off things.”

Stacy says the idea for Escabags started small. It wasn’t an overnight decision to create something with such a broad reach, but as Stacy started to share her story and spread the word about the escape bags and their purpose, more and more doors have been opening.

Based in Unanderra, the charity has now secured major support from organisations such as doTERRA and Think Global Logistics, and has introduced a corporate partnership program, to provide training and support for organisations around how to support domestic violence victims, and how to appropriately respond to someone who might be in need of an Escabag escape bag.

“It’s about sharing stories of hope, but also empowering people to understand the language and put a name to what they might be experiencing. Terms like gaslighting, narcissist, triangulation. People aren’t always aware that what’s happened to them has happened to other people too, and it isn’t at all their fault,” says Stacy.

Stacy’s work as founder and CEO of Escabags has also attracted high-profile attention in recent months, including her being named the 2022 Aware Super NSW Community Hero of the Year award at the NSW Women of the Year Awards.

While the escape bags are still the main focus for Escabags, Stacy also has plans to grow the educational aspect of the charity, and to start to provide freedom houses for domestic abuse survivors who need somewhere they can feel safe, looked after, and be given hope about starting a new chapter in their lives. Stacy’s ambition is to be able to offer a full-service for people escaping a dangerous relationship:

“During my own escape I spent some time in a women’s shelter, and unfortunately they aren’t always the most welcoming places. There are people struggling with addiction, or who’ve been relying on prostitution. They don’t really give you hope about life, or about the decision you’ve made to escape your situation. I’d like to start creating partnerships with other organisations so that we can provide that full range of support. From escape bag to freedom house, to legal advice, to health and wellbeing, to financial advice and emotional support.”

For now, there are plenty of ways Illawarra residents can support Escabags, including donating items for bags, donating money, sewing tote bags or taking part in the monthly bag-packing sessions at their Unanderra warehouse.

Escabags also holds a number of fundraising events each year, and plans are already underway for a black-tie fundraising event in 2023 - The Labyrinth Masquerade Ball - which will take place on Saturday 15th April at The Cube in Campbelltown.

The charity has opportunities for corporate partnerships and sponsorship, or for businesses who are interested in stocking escape bags from Escabags, so that domestic violence victims can access them easily. And Stacy says there’s no ‘right’ kind of business when it comes to being a stockist:

“Any kind of business can be an Escabags stockist - and it doesn’t cost you anything to take part. We have more than 1100 stockists now nationally, and we’re growing that number all the time. Our hope is that there will be an Escabags stockist in every suburb in Australia one day.”

Ambitious plans, but if anyone can make it happen it’s Stacy Jane and her hardworking team of volunteers.

Local Escabags stockists

All organisations that have chosen to stock Escape Bags are caring and empathetic people – please do not feel afraid when asking any one of them for a bag: