Thank you for writing to your MP!
How to find out who your MP is and their email address
If you already know who your MP is, you can search for their email here: www.parliament.vic.gov.au/members/
If you’re unsure, you can:
Visit the government’s interactive map: findelectorate.parliament.vic.gov.au
Search for your address or, if you’re a sexual assault service worker, the address of your service.
Select the name of the district that appears.
Select your MP’s name and then the ‘Contact’ tab to find their email.
Below, we’ve included some text that you can edit to make your own.
If you are part of the specialist sexual assault sector, we have written a version of this letter for sexual assault workers and service leaders that you can use if you would like to.
Thank you again for adding your voice to our campaign. If you receive a response from your MP, please forward your response to: comms@sasvic.org.au
Dear [Minister/Ms/Dr/Mrs/Mr Last name],
I’m writing to you today as a constituent in [your electorate] to urge you to use your voice and influence ahead of the 2025 Victorian Budget to call for urgent investment into frontline sexual assault services.
I am incredibly concerned about the impact sexual violence is having on our community. Last year, there was a 21.3% increase in reported sexual offences in Victoria. We also know that the number of sexual offences reported only represents a fraction of what is actually happening, as 9 in 10 women do not report to police.
Specialist sexual assault services are essential frontline services but they cannot meet the needs of the community due to chronic underfunding.
These essential services give survivors a voice, a place to make sense of their experience and recover but they are only funded to work with 19,000 survivors of sexual violence each year, which pales in comparison to the true number of people who have experienced sexual assault in our community.
Urgent resourcing is needed to meet demand, but the impacts of sexual violence can be all encompassing, and just meeting demand isn't enough.
When someone experiences sexual violence, they face the decision of whether to report to a justice system that is complex, intimidating and can often be re-traumatising. The sector wants to develop training for judges, magistrates, lawyers and police to improve survivor experiences of our justice system. They need investment to do so.
Sexual violence can impair someone's capacity to work, study and live life to its full potential and recovering from the impacts of sexual violence can take a long time. Services know that survivors need a range of groups and long-term support but aren't funded to provide what's needed to give survivors the best chance at recovery.
Sexual assault workers want to be able to answer every call for help when there's been a child sexual abuse incident in a local school and to meet the rising cases of children engaging in harmful sexual behaviour. To do this, the sector needs to be properly invested in.
The peak body for the sector, SASVic, has put together a list of 19 changes that would make a real meaningful difference. You can read them here: www.sasvic.org.au/sasvic-campaign
They are calling on the government to uphold survivors' rights, give survivors the best chance to recover and respect survivors by building a thriving specialist sexual assault sector.
Will you act on sexual violence?
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]