Nicola Di Bona is determined to raise awareness about sexual assault and women's issues as she participates in the 2019 NSW Youth Parliament.
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Youth Parliament is an empowerment and advocacy program that provides a platform for young people to have their voices heard through legislative debate and decision making.
Aimed at students in years 10, 11 and 12, the program highlights the power of young people speaking on issues that are important to them.
"Youth Parliament is not only a chance for young people to learn how bills and laws happens but to actually have a hand in creating them," Nicola said.
"I have just returned from a training camp which gave us a chance to meet everyone in the program and start to work out our committees and over the next few months we will be creating bills to debate when we head to parliament in July."
On the women's affairs committee, Nicola and her fellow students are currently creating a bill around homeless women's access to sanitary items.
"Women who are living on the streets have reduced access and ability to buy sanitary items and even birth babies on the streets when they could have access to a hospital," she said.
"Our group bill will really be around making laws to educate women and the community on what help is out there to help women living rough."
As well as collaborating on a group committee bill, Nicola is writing her own private members bill aimed at providing more educational resources around sexual assault to schools.
"Sexual assault is an issue really close to my heart because I have had friends and even myself go through situations and not a lot was done to help," she said.
"In my experience schools themselves aren't real educated and equipped about what to do if a student tells them they have been assaulted and that is something that needs to change.
"I have spoken to lots of male and female students and overwhelmingly victims feel isolated and not sure if and when they can report it.
"Another issue I have come across is about consent and what consent is and that is also something that needs to change."
Nicola said she hopes that with the added awareness comes a change in approach.
"There needs to be greater access to services and knowledge about what is sexual assault so that when it happens something can be done.
"I hope my bill will mean that schools will legally have to do more to help sexual assault victims, help provide more services and greater education around what not only the victims can do but their friends and the people they tell.
"No one should have to go through it alone or feel shame for speaking up and I want to raise awareness so we can have those hard conversations.
"We saw how conversations changed after the Me Too movement which was about victim empowerment but there is still a huge need for a full cultural change and I want to see if we can do more to educate people."
