CONTENT WARNING: This episode covers suicide and stalking. In Australia, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for domestic, family and sexual violence support. Jazz Thornton has spent years turning some of life’s hardest conversations into stories of hope. An award-winning filmmaker, author, speaker and mental health advocate, and co-founder of Voices of Hope, she has built a career around talking openly about mental illness, suicide, trauma and recovery and showing people that a way forward is possible. But more recently, Jazz found herself telling a very different kind of story. Marie Claire Australia Editor Georgie McCourt sits down with Jazz for a deeply personal conversation about stalking, trauma, mental health, safety and the complicated reality of turning your most painful experiences into a public story. Her new documentary series, Stalked, explores what happens when online attention crosses a line into obsession, control and fear. After experiencing stalking herself, Jazz was forced to confront what it means to lose your sense of safety and how quickly the digital access we give people can become something much more dangerous. Jazz opens up about the moment she realised her stalker had travelled 18,000 kilometres to find her, the fear and hypervigilance that followed, and the safety measures she and those around her had to put in place. She talks about why stalking is so often minimised until it becomes dangerous, how social media can blur the boundaries between public access and personal privacy, and what she wishes she had known about online safety before her own experience. She also reflects on the experiences that shaped her long before stalking entered her life childhood trauma, bullying, severe mental illness and multiple suicide attempts and the people who helped her find a way through. She talks about co-founding Voices of Hope, her work with young people, and the power of storytelling to make people feel less alone. This episode covers: Jazz's experience of severe mental illness and recovery Childhood trauma, bullying and mental health Her experiences with suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts The people who helped Jazz find a way through Co-founding Voices of Hope The power of storytelling in mental health advocacy Her experience of being stalked The moment her stalker travelled 18,000 kilometres to find her The psychological impact of losing your sense of safety Stalking in the digital age, with social media, privacy and online safety Why stalking is often minimised The making of Stalked Becoming publicly identified with your trauma Speaking out and advocating for change Recovery, resilience and finding hope Why telling your story can help someone else feel less alone If this conversation raises issues for you, support is available. In Australia, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for domestic, family and sexual violence support, or Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380 for support around complex trauma and childhood trauma. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
