Rosie Batty's voice wavers and tears fill her eyes as she views her newly acquired portrait hanging on the walls of the National Portrait Gallery. She apologises to the gathered crowd, takes a moment, and turns to look at the photograph again.
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Nikki Toole's portrait shows a woman of determination, a woman of strength, yet in it, Batty can see the sorrow she feels every day since she lost her son Luke on February 12, 2014.
"This is just overwhelming, I hadn't anticipated to feel like this, my emotions are all over the place," Batty says.
"When people perceive me through the media they see that calm, strong, composes advocate … I'm not like that all the time.
"People who are around me, friends, family, work colleagues, they see all sides of me. The vulnerable, the emotional, the distraught, the angry, and I never profess to be any different.
"It's important to be able to display emotion because we live in a society that often doesn't allow us that."
She talks about how too often, when it comes the system around domestic violence, women are told to keep their emotions in check, to not display vulnerability, to stay strong.
"Why should we have to suppress our emotions during what is a very emotional time? We should be able to talk about how we're feeling," she said.
Batty's story has been told many times. From the moment she fronted the media the morning after her son was murdered at cricket practice by his father, to her appointment as Australian of the Year in 2015, to the recent publication of her memoir A Mother's Story, Batty has become the face, and the voice, of the fight against domestic violence.
When she falters at the launch, she finds strength again in statistics: one in three women will experience significant violence in their lives, one in four children will be permanently affected, indigenous women are 35 times more likely to experience domestic violence, one woman murdered every week.
But she jokes too about how the photograph is beyond all her expectations.
"It sure beats being on the cover of the women's magazines all airbrushed and made to look like something that's a reflection of your true self," she said.
"This is really me, a flattering, beautiful, professional portrait of me, but all the same it is me and I'm very honoured."
Toole said it was an honour to be asked by the gallery to photograph Batty for the collection.
"Rosie has a calm strength that I feel came through during our shoot and I have so much admiration for the work that she does to help other victims of domestic violence," Toole said.
"It gives me great pleasure to have played a part in her journey."
Portrait gallery director Angus Trumble said the portrait was an admirable addition to the collection.
"Rosie Batty has campaigned tirelessly for cultural and systemic changes in the way that domestic violence is viewed and treated within Australian society," Trumble said.
"It is our immense pleasure to welcome this striking portrait of her into the national collection. Her contributions to our nation have already been immense and I am sure she will continue to be an advocate for victims of domestic violence both through the Luke Batty Foundation and as a campaigner."
If you or someone you know is impacted by domestic or family violence, call the ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service 24-hour crisis line on 6280 0900. In an emergency, call 000.
