I know about the situation at home, Dassi. I’m here to support you,’ my principal Mrs Leifer said kindly.
As I left her office, aged 15, in February 2003, I smiled. Finally I felt special, and cared for by someone I trusted.
Life was tough at home. I lived with my parents and six siblings in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East, Vic.
It was just one suburb from trendy St Kilda, but it may as well have been a million miles away.
I’d grown up in the ultra-orthodox Adass Israel Jewish community. We had our own schools, shops and medical services –