NEWS
A note about Nina
Sydney journalist, Nina Funnell has been short listed for the Young Australian of the Year awards for 2010.
In 2007 Nina was grabbed from behind by an unknown man, held at blade point, bashed and strangled and told that she was going to be raped and killed. She fought back and escaped and has since been speaking with the Step to the Future Foundation about violence against women.
In the last year she has toured all over Australia with the Step Foundation speaking to thousands of students, many of whom have felt compelled to disclose and seek help over their own experiences of abuse.
Nina, who also sits on the board of the NSW Rape Crisis Centre, says that she is thrilled about the nomination and delighted to have had the opportunity to speak to so many young Australians, from so many different parts of the country.
;)
Nina Funnell"I realised early on that I could look at this assault as being the worst event in my life, or I could choose to look at it as an opportunity to campaign for the rights of all Australians to live free from physical and sexual violence. You get bitter or you make things better", Nina says.
"While there is absolutely no excuse for violence, I didn't want to sit around feeling like a victim. I wanted to be able to help young people and I wanted to be able to do it face to face".
Nina, who was in her final year of tertiary study when the assault occurred, decided to take time off university. She returned in 2008 and after achieving first class honours she won a scholarship and is now completing a post doctoral degree in the Journalism and Media Research Centre at the University of NSW.