With April marking Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Sexual Assault & Family Violence (SAFV) Centre is extending its support to the Geelong community.
About 12 per cent (more than 2 million) Australians have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, while sexual assault rates per capita rose nearly 5 per cent from 2021 to 2022.
SAFV Centre chief executive Helen Bolton said campaigns such as Sexual Assault Awareness Month were important to reinforce that sexual violence is everyone’s business.
“Sexual assault is any behaviour of a sexual nature that makes someone feel uncomfortable, frightened, intimidated or threatened,” Ms Bolton said.
“Sexual assault is an abuse of power. There is consistent evidence that sexual offending is a gendered crime.
“Prevention of sexual violence requires many types of actions and initiatives including in our homes, workplaces, schools, clubs, and the media.”
According to the recent National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey, while Australians overwhelmingly understand that violence against women is a national problem, only 47 per cent of respondents agreed it was a problem in their own suburb or town.
Furthermore, the survey showed a high level of mistrust towards women’s reporting of violence, with over one third of respondents believed sexual assault accusations were a “common” way of “getting back” at men.
Ms Bolton said false allegations were uncommon, and of greater concern was the very high level of underreporting of sexual assault to police.
“It’s unfortunate that even though we have the data, facts and the knowledge, to show that sexual violence is the choice and responsibility of the offender, people are still choosing to remain uninformed on the matter and perpetuate harmful myths and outdated beliefs,” she said.
“Although (these) attitudes are often persistent, through education, advocacy and community development we can combat the issues of power, inequality and disrespect and encourage safe, healthy and respectful relationships.”
Ms Bolton encouraged anyone needing support for sexual or family violence in the Barwon area to contact the SAFV Centre on 03 5222 4318.
“Our specialist organisation is focused not only on providing support for those impacted by sexual violence every step of their journey to recovery, but also providing early intervention programs and primary prevention initiatives to help inform and change community attitudes to stop violence before it happens,” she said.
For support after hours or on weekends and public holidays contact the Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292 or Safe Steps on 1800 015 188.
