Rural Australia's battle against the 'grog monster'

It's been almost 10 years since Sober in the Country founder Shanna Whan set out to tackle 'a monster in our midst'. 

With a daily mission to affect national social change and make sure rural Australians know it's always okay to say no to booze, the small, grassroots, not-for-profit organisation has had an impact far beyond what Ms Whan ever thought possible.

"Today, our message is known from one end of the outback to the other and it is absolutely mind-blowing," Ms Whan said. 

"It's mind-blowing to me because my story is not unusual. It is, in fact, extraordinarily common and I've always known that." 

Her story is one of trying to fit in as a young woman in a male-dominated environment, trauma, addiction, a low so low it nearly took her life, and a fight to survive. 

On the other side of that journey was a burning desire to be the change she wanted someone like herself to see in their own future. 

This drive to change the conversation around alcohol in rural Australia saw Ms Whan receive the Australian of the Year Local Hero award in 2022, be hand-picked as one of 10 Australians to attend Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's funeral, and be named winner of the Marie Claire Woman of the Year  'Advocate of the Year’ award.

Speaking recently to a captive audience of up-and-coming rural leaders at the Young Beef Producers Forum in Roma, Ms Whan shared her story and Sober in the Country's mission to advocate and educate. 

"I kicked off my working life as a very fresh-faced young jillaroo, went out to a station, and in that year, I experienced multiple sexual assaults. I was in the middle of nowhere, and I couldn't get away," Ms Whan said.

"When I left that station, I went to university and didn't know what I wanted to do, but you know what I discovered at university that I was very, very good at? 

"Drinking! Holy bloody hell, I could drink!"

Drinking to fit in, to be popular, so people would like her - "it's a story as old as time".

"It was a very, very male-dominated space which I grew up in, and when I entered the ag arena, I was one of the only female chemical reps that was working in that space at that time," Ms Whan said.

"But I really wanted to do it, because I just wanted to be cooler and a bit tougher than everyone else, I wanted to break the mold, and I wanted to be awesome.

"I thought that to be awesome, I had to behave like one of the blokes and in a way, I kind of did. Because, back in those days, we just weren't taken terribly seriously.

"So I figured if I drank more, smoked more, swore a bit more, did a bit more dodgy stuff, earned my stripes, showed them how tough I was, they'd tip their hat to me and I'd be right.

"And let me tell you, I out-drank and out-smoked and out-swore and out-partied every single guy I ever worked alongside."

It didn't pan out so well though.

"No one respected me more for it. All it did was create my own private hell from which I couldn't actually escape."

In 2015, Ms Whan's story took her to the end of herself.

"What began as that fun party girl, performing like a monkey for a rum and coke, ended as a suicidal 40-year-old woman and it wasn't good.

"It was very scary for everyone who loved me and I nearly didn't make it out alive. But I did.

"When I came through my alcohol addiction - without help, without support, in total isolation, with no services, no one I could talk about it with - I thought to myself, 'this is not okay… where is the help for somebody like me in rural Australia, and why are we not having this conversation'?

"So, I decided to take the reins and be the change I wanted someone like me to see in their own future."

It wasn't an easy path, with many people telling her "you can't talk about that". 

"People were so confronted by it," Ms Whan said.

"[It was] a bit too close to home for some of us, and a bit too true about the rural industry."

In the end, getting the conversation to go national happened "through the silliest and most benign little hashtag" she made up in the bath one day - #OK2SAYNO.

"Some people can feel very threatened by conversations around grog in this country, so I recognised that and decided to flip it and make it about what it is, which is about mateship and about mental health.

"All of a sudden, the heavens opened and away we went.

"Today, Sober in the Country is a national charity. We're not anti-alcohol, we're not prohibitionists; we drive friendly conversations that everyone can participate in and learn from."

Beyond telling her story and the mission of SITC, Ms Whan also used her time in front of the YBPF attendees to set a challenge for them. 

"First thing, when someone doesn't want a drink, I want you to make it okay to say no.

"And when you're having your next crop tour, what are you going to have in your esky for a friend of yours who doesn't drink?

"You're going to have a thoughtful, delicious alternative."

As the next generation of ag leaders look to take up the reins of the industry, Ms Whan hopes they'll be part of the conduit for change.

"We are simply not gearing our industry to be in any way, shape or form advanced, inclusive or progressive in this space," she said.

"We are losing too many people in the country and we're not talking enough about the truth of what actually happens - we're pretending it's not real.

"Alcohol harm and addiction can be, and often is, a monster in our midst, and we have to talk about it.

"This is how we change and save lives - we make it okay to say no."