Julie Hart was “daddy’s little girl” and fondly remembers early morning fishing trips to the beach, sleepy but happy to be by his side.
Her dad Bill died from cancer when Julie was only 10, but in that decade, he instilled a set of values that stuck.
“He taught me that nobody is better than I am and I’m no better than anyone else,” Julie, 59, says. “That’s stayed with me my whole life.”
As she grew up, Julie developed an increasingly strong sense of social justice. She remembers seeing mums with black eyes at the school gate and feeling upset with how wrong it was – underpinned by her dad’s philosophy never to judge others. But it wasn’t until she was 27 and a mum herself that she landed in a role where she could do something about it.
Soul calling
Laid off from her job, Julie responded to an advertisement looking for volunteers at the Hastings Women’s Refuge. It was the early ’90s and, Julie says, those involved with Women’s Refuge were often portrayed as “hairy-legged, lesbian, men-haters.”
Laughing, she adds, “I didn’t care if people called me that, even if the hairy legs bit was probably accurate.”
Working with women who needed help to escape violent homes, Julie became a safe haven. But she was also known as a hard-edged force when dealing with authorities.
She explains, “We were taught in my day that children should be seen and not heard, and I carried that through my twenties, until I realised, in being silent, you’re saying what’s happening around you is okay.”
So with a lump in her throat, she would stand up to police officers, doctors and government officials.
“I’d be talking to a paediatrician with several degrees and all I had was School C English, but to me that didn’t matter.
It was feel the fear and do it anyway.”
When the Hastings Women’s Refuge created a manager role, Julie got the gig.
“I had no qualifications. I felt like I had imposter syndrome, but people had faith in me, I think because I was so mouthy and not scared to challenge people.”
The Hastings branch then merged with the Napier branch and became known as Family VIP Services. Julie has now clocked up 32 years with the organisation – 14 as its business manager.
Her due acclaim
Despite all those years of advocacy, imposter syndrome reared its head again when Julie was told she’d be made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours.
“I really thought they had the wrong Julie Hart until I read the reasons I’d been nominated,” she laughs.
At the investiture ceremony, with her daughter and grandsons beside her, Julie’s thoughts went to her dad and mum, who has passed too.
“Dad would definitely be proud,” she says. “Mum, as a good Catholic girl, would be saying, ‘Now you stay humble.’”
That hasn’t been a problem – despite spending most of her day looking at data and networking, Julie still answers calls from the overnight crisis line.
“It’s not as easy as it once was,” she admits. “Sometimes when the phone rings at 3am, I think, ‘Oh, God, no.’ But as soon as I hear someone say they need help, I get immense pleasure out of saying, ‘We’ve got your back. What do you need from us?’”
A beacon for change
To make societal change, Julie wants parents and grandparents to have more conversations with young children about relationships and respect.
“Teach boys to be gentle men, to communicate, to be equitable in relationships,” she advises. “For girls, it’s the same things that Dad taught me. That the world is your oyster. Nobody is better than you and you’re no better than anyone else.”
And Julie wants everyone to stand up for what is right.
“You can do it at any age. When you’re grey or when you’ve just left school and found something you believe in. Every time something hits you in the gut, be an activist.”
The annual Family VIP Women’s Refuge Gala Dinner is on September 19. Click here to buy tickets.
Help is here
WOMEN’S REFUGE
Crisisline: 0800 REFUGE (0800 733 843)
ARE YOU OK? (Family violence information line)
0800 456 450
CHANGE IS POSSIBLE – for men concerned about their behaviour
0800 456 450
SHAKTI – for migrant and refugee women
0800 742 584
FOR URGENT HELP
Dial 111
