About SASVic
SASVic is the peak body for Victoria’s specialist sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour services.
To find your local specialist sexual assault service, visit our interactive map or list of services.
This page includes:
> OUR MEMBERS
> OUR HISTORY
> OUR STRATEGIC PLAN
> OUR IMPACT
> OUR PROJECTS
> OUR PEOPLE
> CONTACT
OUR MEMBERS
SASVic is the peak body for 19 specialist sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour services across Victoria.
Our members support almost 20,000 survivors, and children and young people engaging in harmful sexual behaviour, every year.
They provide a 24/7 crisis response, as well as counselling, advocacy and support.
Our sector’s response work is complemented by community education and prevention, systemic advocacy, and training and support for other professionals.
OUR HISTORY
SASVic is the peak body for 19 specialist sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour services across Victoria. Our members support almost 20,000 survivors, and children and young people engaging in harmful sexual behaviour, every year. They provide a 24/7 crisis response, as well as counselling, advocacy and support.
OUR STRATEGIC PLAN
We work to promote rights, recovery and respect for victim survivors and other people impacted by sexual violence and harm. We seek to achieve this by working collectively to change the attitudes, systems and structures that enable sexual violence to occur.
SASVic’s members bring over 30 years of feminist practice and specialist expertise to the task of reforming system responses to sexual violence and harmful sexual behaviour. We know that sexual violence is harmful, pervasive and preventable. Together, we aim to help shape society to ensure all those affected are able to get the support they need where and when they need it.
Our Strategic Directions:
- Ensure people affected by sexual violence have access
to high-quality, timely specialist therapeutic support - Build community capacity to prevent, recognise and
respond to sexual violence - Drive structural and systemic change
- Grow and resource the specialist sexual assault and
harmful sexual behaviour workforce and the peak
OUR IMPACT
SASVic is proud of the work achieved in the 2024-2025 financial year, from exploring effective recovery with experts across the state to designing the Justice Navigator pilot program and learning from our colleagues in services abroad.
OUR CURRENT PROJECTS
SASVic is funded to deliver a range of impactful projects.
Learn more about some of the exciting work that we’re doing to improve the justice system.
OUR PEOPLE
The SASVic Board
Access the Model Rules for Sexual Assault Services Victoria (last amended at 29 November 2023 Annual General Meeting).
Kate Wright, Chair
Kate is CEO of Centre Against Sexual Assault Central Victoria. She has over 20 years’ experience in social policy, program management and design, public policy, research and strategy within government and in not-for-profit organisations. Kate brings a focus on social justice, collaboration and advocacy to influence and achieve sustainable change at a systemic, community and individual level to reduce the impact, and prevalence, of sexual violence.
Jaime Chubb, Vice Chair
Jaime is CEO of Centre Against Violence (CAV), a not-for-profit community organisation that delivers specialist sexual assault services and specialist family violence services, counselling, and advocacy to support everyone in the Victorian Ovens Murray region to live safer lives. Prior to commencing at CAV in October 2021, Jaime was the Director of Community Wellbeing at the Rural City of Wangaratta for over seven years.
With a background of experience and leadership across the community services, advocacy, and local government fields, Jaime has a strong and diverse understanding of the complexities and challenges facing the sexual assault and family violence sectors, especially in rural and regional areas. Jaime believes deeply in the need for early intervention and primary prevention work to change the impact of sexual assault on individuals, families, and community.
Jane Barr, Treasurer
Jane is CEO of Gippsland Centre Against Sexual Assault. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the not-for-profit and community sector working on a broad range of innovative service models that support the social inclusion of children, young people and families. Jane was a nominee for the Impact 25 Award 2016 recognising inspirational people in Australia’s social sector and the Robyn Clarke Award for her work with high risk adolescents and collaboration with Child Protection.
Jackie Bateman, Board member
Jackie is an experienced leader of people and practice, a practitioner, consultant and trainer. In roles spanning the UK and Australia, Jackie has developed highly sought after and specialist expertise in working with children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour, using strengths-based models and practices.
Currently, Jackie is the Senior Lead Harmful Sexual Behaviour Prevention at Jesuit Social Services.
Carla Collins, Board member
Carla Collins is currently the Manager of Support After Sexual Harm (SASH) at The Royal Children’s Hospital and a Board member of SASVic. Carla has a background in leadership at sexual assault services at Monash Health, statutory child protection and in safeguarding at the Children’s Commission in NSW. Carla has also worked internationally in child rights and child protection in development and emergency settings, including UNICEF and World Vision, and has a Masters in Public and International Law.
Suzanne Paynter, Board member
Suzanne currently serves as the Group Director of Business Growth & Innovation at Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre.
Suzanne is passionate about the facilitation and development of Australian industry capability, systems-level responses to complex challenges and building a more resilient and sustainable future for Australia. She has a diverse professional background in various industries, including the defence sector, law and government.
She has worked in Executive and Non-Executive Director roles including as COO of the Federal Government’s Accelerating Commercialisation Program, CEO of the Future Business Council, and as Ministerial Adviser to the Treasurer of South Australia.
Suzanne holds an MBA from Monash Business School and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Adelaide.
Blythe McAuley, Board member
Blythe McAuley is a psychologist with more than 20 years’ experience across therapeutic care, harmful sexual behaviour and trauma‑responsive practice. Since joining the Australian Childhood Foundation in 2008, she has held a range of practice leadership and service development roles, contributing to the design of therapeutic and justice‑focused frameworks in partnership with communities and organisations.
As a SASVic Board Member, Blythe brings experience in practice development, cross‑sector collaboration and system reform, contributing to strong governance and the ongoing advancement of specialist sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour responses.
Matt Tyler, Board member
Matt has led internationally significant research and groundbreaking program delivery related to men’s violence, perpetrator focussed child sexual abuse prevention, and addressing child maltreatment.
His contributions related to addressing sexual violence have included developing Australia’s first helpline – Stop it Now! – to prevent child sexual abuse, Australia’s first child sexual abuse perpetration prevalence study, Executive leadership of a pilot using deterrence messages to disrupt online child exploitation, engaging hundreds of schools to improve implementation of the Respectful Relationships curriculum, and design of an online early intervention service to address harmful sexual behaviours.
He is a member of UNSW’s Childlight’s East Asia & Pacific Hub Board, Adjunct Associate Professor at Monash University, a Menzies Leadership Foundation Board member, member of Bravehearts executive research advisory panel and was previously Mayor of Hobsons Bay Council.
Shellee Strickland, Board member
Shellee Strickland is a strong Aboriginal woman born and raised on GunaiKurnai Country with cultural connections to Torres Strait Islander People.
She has a wealth of experience working in community-controlled organisations across a range of services that support First Nations Peoples, including health, justice, family violence, mental health and family services, Shellee brings with her a profound understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities faced by First Nations communities.
Shellee has been CEO at Murrup for nearly three years, and led a reimagining of the organisation, Shellee has more than 15 years in Executive and leadership experience. She is committed to delivering services and programs that are grounded in culture, and voices and advocacy to the most vulnerable and voiceless.
SASVic team
Kathleen Maltzahn, SASVic CEO
Amy Webster, Advocacy, Evidence and Impact Manager
Emily Roberts, Workforce Development and Community Education Manager
Virginia de Santis, Organisational Development and Engagement Manager
Jacqueline Bell, Justice, Rights and Equity Manager
Kathleen Maltzahn, CEO
Read Kathleen’s latest CEO report in our 2024-2025 annual report.
SASVic Contact Form
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OUR JOBS
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