Two survivors of domestic violence who have both been diagnosed with PTSD and have overcome adversity to inspire and support others are the Lifeline Canberra Women of Spirit and Rising Women of Spirit Award recipients for 2021.

The winners and finalists were acknowledged at an uplifting event at Gandel Hall at the National Gallery of Australia this afternoon.

Rising Women of Spirit Award recipient, Annika Reynolds, is an openly queer, non-binary person who grew up in a serious domestic violence and homophobic household, was suicidal as a teenager, and has been diagnosed with complex PTSD.

Despite these challenges, and more, Annika developed resilience to enable them to move past their traumatic upbringing and advocate for their community. Believing climate change to be the greatest challenge facing humanity and the planet, in 2019 at the age of 20 Annika founded Green Law, a youth-led research institute empowering the next generation of lawyers to tackle the climate crisis. As its voluntary CEO, Annika continues to lead Green Law while balancing part-time work and full-time study.

Although lacking the support of a loving family while growing up, Annika said they have Mother Earth’s love to sustain them.

In addition, Annika is the co-founder of the Rainbow Bee-Eaters LGBTIQA+ Group, which creates a safe space for queer Canberrans to connect and has a focus on empowering their community to engage in citizen science.

“I want to craft a legacy for my generation to break the cycle of violence,” Annika said.

This year’s Women of Spirit Award recipient is Penelope Twemlow (aka “Typhoon Twemlow”), a 22-year veteran of the Defence Force and two-times domestic violence survivor who has lived with serious mental health issues for the past 17 years. She actively supports various agencies working in the equity and diversity, domestic violence, mental health, suicide, and homelessness arenas.

Penelope is also the Founder and Chair of Women in Power, a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to promote and improve the electrical and electrotechnology industry by the advancement of women within it.

Despite having her share of “dark days”, for the past decade Penelope has used her personal experiences to empower others and assist them in overcoming difficulties in their life – from suicide prevention and mental health first aid to women in leadership.

Penelope wants people to know, “If I can get through it, anyone can”.

“We’re not broken, we don’t need to be fixed. What we do need is support,” she said.

According to Penelope, there are two kinds of women: drawbridge and Rapunzel. A drawbridge person gets ahead and then makes sure no-one else can follow, while a Rapunzel woman lets down her hair so everyone can climb up to her and beyond.

“It’s about bettering our community”, she said.

The 2021 Rising Women of Spirit finalists included Lovisa Laska and Georgia Houston.

The 2021 Women of Spirit finalists included Rachel Reid, Erin Leonard, Jacinta Dubojski, Hannah Andrevski, Caterina Sullivan, Jo Saccomani, Sarah McGoram, and Rebecca Davey.

Lifeline Canberra CEO Carrie Leeson was also nominated but graciously declined the nomination selection.

Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.