NEW SEXUAL ASSUALT RECOVERY SERVICES LAUNCHED
The NSW Government – in partnership with the NSW Rape Crisis Centre – has expanded services to people around the State who have experienced sexual violence.
The Deputy Premier and Minister for Health, Carmel Tebbutt, and Minister for Women, Linda Burney, today joined NSW RCC Executive Director Karen Willis at NSW Parliament House to launch the new services.
The expansion will include a substantial increase in telephone counselling hours at NSW Rape Crisis Centre, the placement of trauma counsellors in rural and metropolitan Women’s Health Centres for women who have experienced childhood sexual assault and the trial of an online therapeutic support group for adolescents who have been sexually assaulted.
Ms Tebbutt said the State Government announced $616,000 funding to the centre in July to enable more people to receive face-to-face and telephone counselling in metropolitan and rural NSW.
The new face-to-face counselling services will provide trauma processing therapy at seven locations in both metropolitan Sydney (Leichhardt, Liverpool and Penrith) and regional NSW (Albury, Bathurst, Central Coast and Lismore). All locations are hosted by Women’s Health Centres.
Trauma processing therapy is longer term – up to two years – and aims to assist clients recover from the trauma of childhood sexual assault.”
Ms Tebbutt said today she was pleased to announce an extra $80,030 funding to cover establishment costs for the new services.
Sexual assault of a child by an adult is a serious crime that can have horrific impacts for children and families. Tragically, it is far too common,” she said.
It is well documented that for survivors, there can be severe and long-lasting effects of being subject to this trauma.
This new service is designed to help comprehensively address the needs of adult survivors as well as offer intensive and longer term counselling to address trauma issues when needed.”
Ms Willis said that in 2007/08 the NSW RCC received 7029 calls, up from 2927 in 2004/05.
Currently 17% of first callers to NSW RCC are adult survivors of childhood sexual assault,” Ms Willis said.
The number of callers who are adult survivors is expected to increase with the new services.
The Minister for Women, Linda Burney, said the trial of the online therapeutic support group would also help reach out to 12-16 year olds who have experienced sexual violence.
This is the first time an online group like this has been used in Australia. It targets young people with a tool they are familiar with – the internet – and will ensure effective and sensitive responses to their terrible trauma,” Ms Burney said.
Irrespective of where they live, they will have support and assistance from a peer support group and a counsellor. All these young people need is a computer and access to the internet.
While sexual assault occurs across all ages and affects both young women and men, young women are most at risk of being assaulted. They also experience sexual assault at higher rates than women in other age groups.”
Ms Burney said the online therapeutic support group project would complement face-to-face counselling and other clinical care.
This is a wonderful service that will have the capacity to reach the young and vulnerable and help them on their journey to recovery,” she said.
The NSW Rape Centre is a Non Government Organisation administered by Sydney South West Area Health Service and funded through the NSW Health NGO Program.
More information about the NSW Rape Crisis centre is available at: www.nswrapecrisis.com.au
