By Callum Ludwig
April 2022 is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), aimed at educating people about the danger and prevalence of sexual assault.
The theme for 2022 is “Building Safe Online Spaces”, and Eastern Health’s Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault (ECASA) want people to be aware of their vulnerability online after the last two years where we have become increasingly reliant on technology.
ECASA said the statistics for sexual assault in the Yarra Ranges have been high and could be even higher than the stats show.
“Statistics from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency indicate at the end of December 2021, there had been 321 sexual offences reported in the Yarra Ranges or 201.76 per rate of 100,000 of the population. This sits slightly above the average against the rest of the state, however, this does not take into account some of the offences that may sit under other categories such as stalking, cyber-related offences, breaches of Intervention Orders etc,” an ECASA representative said.
“We are also aware that sexual offences are often unreported compared to other crimes (Victoria Police 2017) and that Sexual Offences are usually a hidden crime (O’Hara, 2012).
“Given the unknown nature of offending and underreporting more broadly (including the Yarra Ranges), we assume that the actual rates would sit much higher.”
The teal ribbon is the symbol recognising sexual assault, and to raise awareness you can download graphics online to add to your online profile.
The ECASA representative said the focus should be around creating a safe space for people who do disclose their experiences of sexual assault.
“Yarra Ranges residents can help through believing, validating, and increasing knowledge around sexual assault and how to support people who have. Learning about delayed reporting and understanding that the significant number of cases that Sexual Assault services respond to are historical,” they said.
“Reporting is often delayed due to fear, self-blame, shame and the nature of trauma often causes people to deny the full impact of the offending. People will often disclose historical sexual offences when there is a trigger point in their lives.”
You can also provide them with some resources such as details for ECASA 9870 7330 or Knox SOCIT 83356701
ECASA provide free and confidential 24/7 Crisis care response following a recent sexual assault including attendance by police/forensic services, as well as:
• Short to medium term counselling and advocacy
• Outreach to young people 12-25 years of age, who are
homeless or at risk of homelessness (IHSHY program)
• Telephone counselling and support
• Therapeutic groups
• Information and referral for legal and medical issues
• Community education
• Primary and secondary consultation
• Professional training
• Prevention programs
Important information and resources about sexual assault can also be found at https://www.esafety.gov.au/ and https://www.sasvic.org.au/. Teal ribbon graphics can be downloaded at https://www.nsvrc.org/saam/2022/graphics.
