Disability groups state that sexual and physical abuse is rampant amongst disabled people living in care. Kevin Stone, of the Disability Advocacy Group – Valid, said: “we know it’s happening…we think it’s the tip of the ice-burg…and it’s happening in far more services that we dare think…and not just in Victoria”. Colleen Pearce, Victorian Public…
DetailsIn Victoria more than half of sexual abuse victims don’t report the crime. 66% of victims said that they did not report because they were worried about not being believed and 52% said that they lacked confidence in the legal system. The average sentence for rape is 5 years with most prosecutors considering this to…
DetailsA thirty-nine-year-old female Melbourne secondary school teacher has recently pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a female student under the age of sixteen-years, including sexual penetration, at Knoxfield and Daylesford in 2009 . The teacher’s employment as a teacher was terminated in 2012 and the assailant has been released on bail pending a plea hearing in November. If…
DetailsOn Thursday the 16-08-12 at around 5.00 pm in Altona a fifty-seven-year-old female victim was approached by a male aged around thirty years and of Middle Eastern appearance who attempted to start a conversation with her before attempting to indecently assault her. Police believe that the same assailant is responsible four other similar incidents that…
DetailsA forty-nine-year-old male has been arrested over an alleged sexual assault that occurred in a Ballarat massage business on the 12-08-12. It is alleged that at around 2.00 pm the male offender sexually assaulted a female on the premises. If you have been the victim of a sexual assault contact Victims of Crime Counselling & Compensation Services…
DetailsOn the 15-08-12 at around 6.00 pm a male exposed himself to two eleven-year-old girls who were on their way home after playing at a Melton park. The male offender was riding a bike when he exposed himself to the two young girls and then began to masturbate. If you have been the victim of…
DetailsSexual assault can happen to anyone and nobody ever deserves to be sexually assaulted. Recent Australian research suggests that more men are sexually assaulted after they turn fifteen years of age than before. It is also estimated that the occurrence of Childhood Sexual Abuse in Australia may be as high as one in three women…
DetailsAt some time in your life you are likely to experience or witness a traumatic event. Those events that involve intense fear, helplessness or horror are more likely to result in a disabling response. Examples of traumatic events are criminal assault, sexual abuse, domestic violence and stalking. Common emotional responses include fear, guilt and anger. Common cognitive responses…
DetailsWomen who become victims of sexual assault typically experience the victimization as a traumatic event, perceiving it as an emotional shock. Common reactions to this kind of trauma are:
Domestic violence is a crime. Women are at greater risk at home than on the street. Most violence in the home is committed by men. Women and children are most of the victims.
Domestic violence is any behavior which causes physical, sexual or psychological damage or causes someone to live in fear. Physical and sexual violence are the more obvious forms of violence. Rape within marriage is a crime in Victoria. Other forms of violence include making you think you are crazy, locking you in the house, threatening to kill the children, treating you like a servant, and so on. Some have said that these things are just as damaging as physical violence.
If you are in a violent relationship you may feel degraded and alone, afraid to tell anyone, worried about what others will think, afraid that it is your fault, scared that it will get worse if you leave, insecure about your children’s future, frustrated and sad because you have tried everything to change the situation, guilty about leaving, that you have failed as a wife and mother. You are not to blame about the violence. You have a right to be safe. You have the right to live a life free of violence.
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