April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It is also the month leading up to the Victorian state budget on the 7 May 2024.
This month, we want to ensure that Victorian politicians are aware of the level of sexual violence in their communities and what action they can take to do something about it.
9,537 sexual offences were reported in Victoria in 2023 - that’s 26 sexual offences reported a day, according to data released by the Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) Victoria last month. But we know that these statistics are just the tip of the iceberg as almost 9 in 10 women do not report sexual assault and although we don’t have the figure for men and children, we know they face barriers in coming forward.
The CSA also released the data for every local government area, making it easy for us to let MPs know about the sexual offences reported in their areas.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
What have we asked for in the upcoming Victorian budget?
In the 2024-25 Victoria budget, we’re calling for $9 million to allow the specialist sexual assault sector to deliver a quicker, flexible responses to survivors of sexual violence and to fund Justice Navigators to help survivors navigate the support, compensation, recovery and justice options available to them.
This funding would also allow SASVic to continue its vital work. The majority of the peak body’s funding runs out at the end of June with no indictation from the government that it will be renewed, putting our work supporting the sector and upholding the rights of people impacted by sexual violence, in jeopardy, including:
advocacy for survivors to access forensic medical examinations
training for lawyers on responding to disclosures of sexual violence
supporting projects around the state to help young people understand affirmative consent
coordinating support for communities impacted by historic and recent child sexual abuse.
In addition to the $9 million for the specialist sexual assault sector, we’re calling on the government to deliver their promised sexual violence strategy, which they have been promising since 2021.
The only way to address the real level of sexual violence across Victoria is with a comprehensive strategy.
How you can help
Email your MP
You can help put sexual violence on the agenda next month by emailing your local MP.
We’ve put together an easy template with instructions that you can use to email them. As seen above, we’ve also put together tiles for each LGA in Victoria, which you can include in your email.
Share the prevalence of sexual violence with your MP
You can share our social media tiles with your MP on the platform of your choice. Here are instructions on how to do so:
Download the social media tile with the data from your LGA or region.
If you don’t know who your local MP is, you find who they here. Type in your address, click on your district or region and find out who they are.
Post a tile on your social media, making sure to tag your MP. Here’s a sample post, but feel free to adapt it:
I’m supporting SASVic’s campaign to let MPs know about the sexual violence in their areas this Sexual Assault Awareness month. @[Type your MPs social media handle]: [number] sexual offences were reported in [name of LGA or region] in 2023: This statistic just scratches the surface as 9 in 10 women do not report sexual assault.
To drive down the number of sexual offences in Victoria, we need the government to deliver a sexual violence strategy urgently. Learn more here: https://zurl.co/yMeNYou can also tag @SASVictoria on X (formerly Twitter) or @sasvic_ on Instagram. If you don’t feel comfortable posting your own, you can always share our posts.
Join our campaign to end sexual violence in Victoria to stay updated.
Getting support
If you have experienced a recent sexual assault or need after-hours support, please call the Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292.
Sexual violence is being forced, pressured or tricked into doing sexual things when you don’t want to. It is often a crime and can take many forms, including child sexual abuse, image-based sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual assault. It can affect people of all genders throughout their lives and can be perpetrated by strangers or people who are known to the survivor.
It can be difficult to speak about sexual violence. Specialist sexual assault services support adults and children who have experienced sexual violence, whether recently or a long time ago. Harmful sexual behaviour services provide specialist support to children and families. For more information about specialist sexual assault services in Victoria and where to find them, visit peak.sasvic.org.au/servicemap
