Soccer player Danny Hodgson is pleading for an end to violence on the streets and demanding tougher penalties for offenders as he continues his long journey to recovery from an unprovoked one-punch attack.
Mr Hodgson suffered a catastrophic brain injury and was left fighting for life in Perth after a brutal attack at a train station in September last year.
Eight months later, he is already doing things doctors warned he was unlikely to do ever again.
“Every day is a challenge,” he told Nine News.
“The main thing now is to learn how to walk again, which I’m improving rapidly.”
His mother Nicola said her son’s recovery so far had been amazing.
“It’s something we didn’t think we were going to see,” she said.
“We were told he wouldn’t do it and here he is just knocking down barriers and making me proud every day.”
Mr Hodgson’s teenage attacker was recently sentenced to three years and eight months behind bars, which came as a disappointment to Mr Hodgson’s family.
“The crime needs to match the time and at the moment it’s just not,” Ms Hodgson said.
“This unprovoked attack broke our family; literally broke it to pieces.
“We’re literally putting those pieces back together every day and it’s never going to be normal.”
This week, the federal government announced a $1m grant to the Stop the Coward Punch campaign, which was launched in 2014 by former boxing champion Danny Green.
While the Hodgson family welcomed the funding, they also called for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for such a crime.
“If they want to stop this happening, they’ve got to act now – and the quicker they act, the quicker it stops,” Mr Hodgson said.
Previously known as a “king-hit”, a coward punch is a strike that is unprovoked and delivered without warning.
Research shows people involved in coward punches are mostly men, with more than half aged between 18 and 23, according to the federal government.
About 70 per cent of attacks happened between 10pm and 4am, with 12 per cent resulting in death.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said this week the Stop the Coward Punch campaign helped to educate young people about positive behaviour.
“We see it all too often … lives wrecked by cowardly and unprovoked violence,” she said.
“To change behaviours, we have to change minds – that’s why campaigns like this are incredibly important.
“They’re helping to save lives by preventing a punch from even being thrown.
“Since 2000, 172 Australians have lost their lives to coward punches, with countless other victims left injured or traumatised and families left devastated as a result of these cowardly assaults.”
Mr Hodgson’s parents travelled from the United Kingdom to be by his side throughout his ordeal and he said their support had helped his recovery.
“There’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” Mr Hodgson said.
“You’ve just got to brace yourself and just set your mindset that you’re going to get through it and happier days will come.”
