April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Today is the first day of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Sexual violence is harmful, pervasive and preventable. Its impacts are felt across the whole community.

The level of sexual violence in our communities remains unacceptable with the latest Victorian crime statistics showing that sexual offence reports has increased by 18.5% in the last year.

SASVic recently launched a campaign calling on the Victorian Government to invest in rights, recovery and respect for survivors of sexual violence at the upcoming Victorian state budget on 20 May. As part of our campaign, we’re calling on the government to uphold survivors’ rights to safety and justice.

Justice, including being awarded compensation or redress, can be an important part of someone's recovery after sexual violence.

However, the systems survivors have to navigate can be complex, intimidating and perpetuate myths about sexual violence. This can compound harm and make recovery more difficult.

After years of advocacy, the Justice Navigator pilot program will start this year in Victoria. Justice Navigators will support survivors to exercise their rights and navigate the complex range of support, compensation, recovery and justice options available to them, including by accompanying them to court.

This pilot program could be the start of something life-changing and we'll advocate for this program to be expanded to every part of the state.

These roles will make a huge impact for survivors able to access them. But it's not enough.

It has been recommended by multiple inquiries that specialist training should be developed for lawyers, judges and magistrates to create a trauma-informed trial environment. This could include giving judges greater confidence to enforce rules around cross-examination, for example, inappropriate questions about sexual history.

And what about police?

9 in 10 women do not report sexual violence to police and we know men and children also face barriers to reporting. It is vital that every Victoria Police member understands how to respond appropriately when someone makes the courageous decision to report a sexual offence.

To make this happen, we're calling for specialist sexual violence training to be embedded into the Victoria Police Academy curriculum and rolled out across Victoria Police.

Accessing civil justice pathways and compensation can be complex. This year, SASVic has received a grant to support financial advisors to understand the impacts of sexual violence and offer clear advice.

But with investment in an end-to-end compensation support program, we can make applying for compensation less stressful and a transformative part of someone's recovery.

What about the family violence system?

For over half of those who have experienced sexual assault, this was perpetrated by a current or former partner, or date. Working together with men’s behaviour change programs is critical to ending sexual violence.

But we need investment to build the capacity of these services to consistently identify and respond to sexual violence.

Rights

We’re calling on the government to:

• Expand and sustain the Justice Navigator pilot program.

• Fund specialist sexual violence training for lawyers, judges, magistrates and police.

• Deliver an end-to-end compensation support program.

• Build capacity of men’s behaviour change programs to consistently identify and respond to sexual violence.
  

Help us call for systemic change by learning more about our Rights. Recovery. Respect. campaign.