Recovery Hub
About sexual violence
Sexual violence is wide spread in our society and it is unacceptable. Sexual violence is never the fault of the victim survivor and is a crime.
> Understanding sexual violence
> Specialist sexual assault services
SEXUAL VIOLENCE INFORMATION
Sexual violence is a societal injustice, often driven by inequality and one person feeling entitled to dominate or use power over another. Sexual violence can happen anywhere, to anyone and at any stage of life. It can have a terrible impact on people’s lives, impairing the ability to work, study and live life to its full potential.
It can be difficult to talk about but we need a whole-of-community response to address it.
SPECIALIST SEXUAL ASSAULT SERVICES
What is a specialist sexual assault service?
A specialist sexual assault service provides information, support, counselling and advocacy to survivors of sexual violence, their families and friends.
There are 19 Victorian services, and support is available to adults and children of all genders.
At a specialist sexual assault service, you will:
- be believed
- be treated with dignity and respect
- have access to information and options
- have control over your decisions
- speak to a counsellor advocate.
Counsellor advocates work in specialist sexual assault services. They are tertiary qualified specialists. They provide:
- crisis care after a recent sexual assault
- appointment-based therapeutic counselling
- therapeutic group work.
All services are free-of-charge. You do not need a Medicare card or a referral from your GP to access support.
How to contact a specialist sexual assault service
Specialist sexual assault services are open from 9am – 5pm. When you call, you will speak to a counsellor advocate and they can help you to work out what might help you. If you need to speak to someone outside of office hours, you can always call the Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292.
Specialist sexual assault services are for everyone. There are also services that support specific communities, including the Aboriginal Community Controlled Sexual Violence Pilots and LGBTIQA+ health services.
