Left Write Hook – a unique support group helping survivors take the power back

A unique support group for survivors of sexual abuse called Left Write Hook, now the focus of a multi-modal, interdisciplinary University of Melbourne research project and the subject of a documentary film, was born in a local boxing gym.

“While doing my PhD, I began to develop a creative arts project I called Left Write Hook,” says Associate Professor Donna Lyon from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), founder of the innovative program.

“I ran that project in a grassroots way at first. I’m a producer, academic, boxer, and I’m also a survivor of child sexual abuse. I wanted to bring other women and gender diverse survivors together to write and share, and then teach them boxing as a way to physically express the trauma stored in their body.”

The statistics paint a dark picture of the prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in Australia. The Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS 2023) found that 28.5% of people living in Australia have experienced CSA – this equates to almost one in three women before the age of 18, and one in five boys. Survivors often experience a lifelong trajectory of complex trauma, impacting their physical, social, mental and economic wellbeing, including significant health impacts.

“Trauma leaves people feeling powerless,” says Donna. “Our communities are not well informed about the life-long impacts of CSA and how to support victim-survivors who disclose, without compounding their trauma. Stigma, shame, and silencing discourage many victim-survivors from disclosing their abuse until well into adulthood, or often never at all.”

Left Write Hook is unique in that it equips adult survivors of sexual violence to actively take back power in group settings through a survivor-led, research-informed program blending creative writing and boxing.

The eight-week program empowers female-identifying and gender diverse adult survivors, providing a physical outlet to locate and channel healthy aggression and offer ways for survivors to learn, connect and heal through creativity and sport, fostering a supportive, resilient community.

“Each week participants meet at a boxing gym in a closed group session,” explains Donna. “In the first half of the session, a group ‘check-in’ ensures the space feels safe and welcoming along with establishing and co-constructing group guidelines. Participants are then invited to write in response to a prompt — for example, ‘My body is… ’ — and share their writing with the group.” After a short break, participants are led into a boxing session with a qualified coach.

To date, 68 victim-survivor participants have completed the flagship program, and 14 individuals with lived experience have been up-skilled to become Left Write Hook facilitators. Ten community-based programs have been delivered across various Melbourne suburbs, and 50 percent of participants return for a second or third program. Participants have described the program as life-changing and transformative, with lasting effects.

In 2020, together with a multidisciplinary research team, Donna studied the impact of the program on eight participants’ wellbeing and sense of agency. This was followed by research which studied 30 survivors of CSA who participated in Left Write Hook. Participants completed mental health and wellbeing questionnaires before and after the program. The results showed a reduction in depression, anxiety, stress, symptoms of PTSD and complex PTSD, along with improved emotional wellbeing.

Now, the Left Write Hook Charity has partnered with the University of Melbourne as part of a Medical Research Future Fund randomised control trial, comparing boxing as a standalone activity to the Left Write Hook program as an intervention for victim-survivors. The program is being led by Dr Caitlin Hitchcock and Donna through the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. The trial will run for two years until 2027 and will help build further evidence of the program’s efficacy in order to scale and grow.

The project became the subject of a feature-length documentary of the same name (produced by Sweetshop & Green), directed by Donna’s colleague from the VCA, Dr Shannon Owen (University of Melbourne) and co-produced by Donna, Shannon, Alice Burgin, and Gal Greenspan.

Funded by Screen Australia and other screen industry partners in 2022 and produced in 2022-2023, the film premiered in August 2024 as the Melbourne International Film Festival’s inaugural ‘Premiere with Purpose’.

The film centres trauma-informed and socially responsible storytelling practices as a foundational filmmaking methodology as it follows eight female and gender diverse victim-survivors in the Left Write Hook program. Many of the documentary’s participants remain committed to the film and are working with the production team on a study to measure the ongoing impact of the filmmaking process on their wellbeing and mental health across the film’s release.

The documentary won the 2024 MIFF Intrepid Audience Award and received positive media coverage, including a four-star review in Screenhub. It was released in cinemas nationally in October 2024.

In 2022 Left Write Hook was established as a charity with a board of directors, and since then the program has been further formalised and developed.

While any intervention to address such a damaging and pervasive trauma will necessarily be incremental, Donna has seen profound and lasting changes in Left Write Hook participants.

“Complex post-traumatic stress disorder can be lifelong, so people can be really up and down with their journeys, but I will say that I’ve seen people’s lives changed through Left Write Hook,” says Donna.

“Knowing that our innovative approach, backed by research, helps diminish their trauma is incredibly heartening. It’s profoundly moving to witness people’s transformation as they regain self-belief, emotional wellbeing, and trust in others.”