About Geraldine
Geraldine Bilston is a professional consultant and advocate. She has dedicated her career to partnering her lived expertise and professional skills within family violence work.
In 2021, Geraldine completed a Graduate Certificate in Family Violence and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Policy and Politics.
With strong leadership experience and strategic planning, Geraldine previously served as the Deputy Chair of the Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council and holds governance and advisory positions on boards, including Kara Family Violence Service and the Mornington Peninsula Primary Prevention Collaboration.
Geraldine is well-known for her media appearances and written contributions, sharing her insights and experiences.
Her dedication to preventing and responding to family violence was recognised with a 2021 Australia Day Local Champion Award.
Geraldine’s work is grounded in a commitment to understanding the individuals and communities we aim to support.
Services
Subject Matter Expert
Geraldine has contributed to a number of projects as a Subject Matter Expert with the Victorian Government, Victoria Police, Ernst and Young, and within Family Violence sector working groups.
Public Speaking
Geraldine is a compelling presenter and enjoys speaking out publicly both as a professional and from her own lived experience perspective.
Media
Geraldine has shared her story through a range of media outlets including on ‘You Can’t Ask That’ in 2019, ‘Q & A’ in 2020, ‘The Drum’ in 2020, and a number of writing pieces on the website ‘Mamamia’.
Testimonials
We had the pleasure of hosting Geraldine at an online event in which MCM were launching our new Responding to Family Violence Framework, the key focus of which is the rights, safety and voices of Victim Survivors. It was absolutely fantastic to interview Geraldine about her experiences and to learn from her. Geraldine is enormously brave and insightful when she speaks, and she is utterly compelling. We had a huge response to her session and the feedback was universally positive, and I believe she really helped us understand why this work is so important. I would absolutely recommend Geraldine for any similar event and I hope to work with her again in the future!
Geraldine played a central role on our family violence ‘You CAN ask that’ event and panel at Monash Health on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 2019.
Geraldine was generous, candid and shared her story in such a way that our people were able to hear the power of initiating conversations with those experiencing family violence, to help them understand there is help and support available for when they feel able to leave the relationship – even if that isn’t until sometime later. She showed so clearly through her own experience that knowing there is support, provides you with confidence once you choose to make a change. This was a great reinforcement of the family violence training we have been implementing at Monash.
What was really special about Geraldine is the way she took the preparation for this event so seriously; she kept contact with the emcee and myself with her thoughts about what might work or what aspects of her story should or could be explored. It was clear that she had a great level of care about making sure the message was suitable for the audience and that it would work for everyone. It’s a joy to work with someone like Geraldine and personally inspiring to see how she takes the positives about her experiences to grow and help other do likewise.
I hope we have the chance to work together again.