It is remarkable the difference that a word can make in someone’s life when they are experiencing domestic and family violence.
For Zachary Henderson and his mum, that word was escape.
Now it has even more significance, because not only did they escape their situation of domestic and family violence, but Zach has become a young entrepreneur and proud owner of Escape Streetwear.
Witnessing domestic violence in 2022 at the age on only 13, Zachary now 15 wants to be a force of awareness in the domestic and family violence crisis and his experiences have now become a symbol of liberation and empowerment.
Through his journey, he transformed his pain into creativity, his suffering into strength, and his Escape into a source of inspiration for countless others.
Asked how Escape Streetwear became a reality for him, Zachary said after being so fortunate to escape the domestic violence situation that he and his mother had been living in, he could see how prevalent domestic violence was with all the continual cases showing up in the media.
“I decided to start Escape Streetwear as a symbol of education and to help create a movement for change,” he said.
“The education needs to start in early childhood centres and primary schools to teach children respect for one another and that verbal, emotional and physical abuse is never okay.
“This knows no boundaries of gender and creating this streetwear brand became a form of therapy for myself.”
Raising awareness continues to be an important area for Zachary, because when they were in the thick of their own situation there was no thought of an idea such as Escape Streetwear.
“We found that a lot of people don’t want to talk about it, because if they don’t acknowledge it then it isn’t happening.
“Mum and I have both lost friends, and I have endured bullying at school due to our situation.
“Mum and I are a great team and whilst we still have times where we have our bad days due to our journey, it has made us who we are and made us both determined to be successful, happy, safe and to be part of the movement of change to end domestic violence.”
For both Zachary and his mother, the one simple word Escape can show others that there can be a way out and when asked by strangers when wearing his brand what it means, it opens up a discussion to help educate others.
“This needs to be front and centre and people should be proud to tell their stories which all forms part of their healing journey.
“Experiencing domestic violence is something that stays with you for life, but trying to use this in a positive way is what Escape is all about.
“We are partnering with some amazing foundations making a donation to their foundations for every item sold, so we are giving back to help fund support and education, including Humans for Purpose, Friends with Dignity, Women’s Community Shelter, Lovewell Foundation and Carissa George Art.”
