Media release: Goverment needs to focus on the three Rs: rights, recovery and respect
A new campaign from Victoria's peak body for specialist sexual assault services will call on the Victorian Government to invest in rights, recovery and respect for survivors of sexual violence.
The campaign comes at a time that the sector is meeting increasing demand and a “funding cliff”.
SASVic is calling for $12.7 million for urgent reform - a small investment.
SASVic has a list of 19 asks, including:
Long-term, flexible support options and a range of peer-support and therapeutic groups.
Training for lawyers, judges and police to understand the impacts of sexual violence and improve the experience of our complex and punitive legal and justice system.
Comprehensive support for families, teachers and the community after child sexual abuse incidents in schools.
Support for all survivors to navigate their complex compensation, justice and support options.
Unfortunately, the sector faces a funding cliff in 2025 rather than the proper investment that it needs.
"It's the role of government and the wider community to prevent sexual violence from ever occurring,” observes Ms Kathleen Maltzahn CEO of peak body SASVic, “When it does, the least we can do is support those impacted to recover. Unfortunately, the sector faces a funding cliff in 2025 rather than the proper investment that it needs.”
"If we're serious about addressing sexual violence, we need substantial investment - the promised sexual assault strategy that was due in 2022."
Sexual violence is prevalent and wide-spread.
The most recent crime stats show a 21.3% increase in reported sexual offences between September 2023 and September 2024.
Victoria's specialist sexual assault sector currently provides support to around 20,000 people a year but fears it will not be able to keep up with escalating demand without substantial investment via the upcoming state budget.
Schools
And it’s not only adults that are impacted. Frontline specialist sexual assault workers are receiving almost daily calls from schools across Victoria needing help to respond to child sexual abuse, perpetrated with by adults or coming from children and young people engaging in harmful sexual behaviour. Driven in part by exposure to family violence and pornography, technology-facilitated sexual violence is sky-rocketing.
Only sexual assault services have the specialist skills required to navigate this disturbing trend.
What can specialist sexual assault sector workers do about it?
SASVic CEO, Kathleen Maltahn says, "Specialist sexual assault counsellors do transformative work, they give survivors a place to make sense of their experience, give survivors a voice and help them recover but responding to sexual violence in all its forms is an insurmountable task with the resources we have."
They point to what the sector needs, and what the community expects them to offer.
SASVic welcomed the government's 30 May announcement to fund the Justice Navigator pilot program in 2024 and new laws that exempt survivors of sexual violence from giving evidence at pre-commital hearings.
"It's clear that the government sees these as important issues facing our community but we need substantial reform, urgently." says Ms Maltzhan.
“There’s so much more we can do with victim survivors, police, the judiciary, schools and beyond but we need the right funding and the right policy settings. Until then, the recovery of victim survivors is being compromised. That’s not a fit state to be in.”
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