For SASVic members

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SASVic membership

SASVic is the peak body for 18 specialist sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour services in Victoria.

In 2023, SASVic launched its new service map, which allows those impacted by sexual violence to find their local specialist sexual assault service in Victoria.

Standards of Practice

In September 2021, the National Association of Services Against Sexual Violence (NASASV) released the National Standards of Practice Manual for Services Against Sexual Violence (Third Edition). These standards provide guidance for Victoria’s specialist sexual assault sector.

You can access the archived Centre Against Sexual Assault Standards of Practice here. SASVic is currently developing guidelines for Victorian services to complement the NASASV national standards of practice.

Workforce training

SASVic offers workforce training opportunities for those working in DFFH funded sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour services. Visit our training and events page below to see what is currently available to book.

If you’re not currently employed in the sexual assault field but are interested in attending a training, you can speak to our team by emailing training@sasvic.org.au

The eSafety Commission also provides free training, webinars and learning modules that are open to the specialist sexual assault sector.

Getting involved at SASVic

Ways you can inform our work:

Expressions of interest are currently open to join our Service Design & Improvement Standing Committee. Please email Maria Papadontas if you have any questions: maria.papadontas@sasvic.org.au

We’d love to hear from you. For questions about:

SASVic research

Responding to the new normal: exploring the impacts of pornography:
Review of the literature and experiences of the specialist sexual assault sector.

Dr Monica Campo, Sexual Assault Services Victoria (2024)

On 19 April 2024, SASVic launched its pornography discussion paper. The paper provides an overview of the experiences of the sexual assault sector and significant literature on the nature of pornography's relationship to sexual violence and harm.

Other sexual violence research

The normalisation of sexual violence revictimisation in regional and rural areas: Our failure to respond

Emily Corbett, Jennifer Power, Jacqui Theobald, Lee Edmonds, Kate Wright, Leesa Hooker (2023)

This study is the result of a collaboration between the Centre Against Sexual Violence Central Victoria and Latrobe University. The research sheds light on the unique challenges faced by rural and regional survivors of sexual violence in terms of disclosure, recovery, and seeking justice.

The Prevalence and impact of child maltreatment in Australia: Findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study

Haslam D, Mathews B, Pacella R, Scott JG, Finkelhor D, Higgins DJ, Meinck F, Erskine HE, Thomas HJ, Lawrence D, Malacova E. (2023).

This report outlines the primary findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment study. This includes the prevalence of all five types of child maltreatment among the Australian population and among young people aged 16-24 years of age. The report ends with 8 key recommendations.

Technology-facilitated abuse: family, domestic and sexual violence

eSafety Commissioner (2023)

This scan of literature was done as part of a broader co-design process to develop a proposed support service for victim-survivors dealing with tech-based abuse within family, domestic and sexual violence. The purpose of the scan was to provide a summary of the nature, prevalence, impacts and responses to the issue. It identifies barriers and enablers for responding to and helping victim-survivors, and highlights the support that is currently available in Australia.

SASVic resources

Victorian Affirmative Consent Reforms

Sexual Assault Services Victoria 2023

In July 2023, the Victorian Government introduced new reforms that provide key changes to consent laws under the Justice Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences and Other Matters) Act 2022. This fact sheet provides an overview of how the law changed. Visit our Affirmative Consent Webpage for more information and key messages.

Other practice resources

Establishing the connection: Guidelines for practitioners and clinicians in the sexual assault and alcohol and other drug sectors

Australian Institute of Family Studies (2016)

These guidelines have been developed to build the capacity of workers in the sexual assault and alcohol and other drug (AOD) sectors in Victoria to support shared clients who experience both sexual assault trauma and substance use issues.

CEASE Guides for workers: Sexually Abusive Behaviour Treatment Services (SABTS) (Under review, read below)

(2016)

The HSB Networked, chaired by SASVic, will continue to provide support and consultation with member organisations who deliver HSB services. A HSB Working Group has been established to review the CEASE Standards of Practice, which will encompass the review of the HSB Orientation Manual (link below), identify and develop practice directives and guidance and build workforce capacity for the sector. If you have any questions about this, please email maria.papadontas@sasvic.org.au

Program evaluations

A community based survivor-victim focussed restorative justice - a pilot

Bebe Loff, Bronwyn Naylor, Liz Bishop (2019)

This is the final report a study titled A Community-Based Survivor-Victim Focussed Restorative Justice Pilot. The study was based at South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault (SECASA). The study evaluates an innovative criminal justice response offered to survivor-victims of sexual assault and family violence.

MARAM resources

MARAM Agency Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (MARAM)

This framework was designed to increase the safety and wellbeing of Victorians by supporting services to identify, assess and manage family violence risk effectively. MARAM includes the Family Violence and Child Information Sharing Schemes (FVISS & CIS), which are designed to support risk assessment and risk management.

All Victorian funded sexual assault (SA) and harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) services must align with the MARAM Framework and undertake family violence screening, identification, risk assessment and risk management for all clients. This funded by Family Safety Victoria, is helping to build capacity of our members to implement MARAM and the information sharing schemes.

MARAM Webinar Series: Sexual assault in intimate partner relationships

Between 2020 and 2021, SASVic, Safe & Equal and No to Violence hosted quarterly webinars to explore coordinated responses between sexual assault services, specialist family violence victim survivor services and perpetrator intervention services to respond to intimate partner sexual violence. You can view them below by following the links and entering the corresponding password.

  • Part 1 of this webinar series focused on the MARAM framework, and how each sector responds to trauma. It highlighted how system responses can maintain a victim-survivor centred approach.

    To access the recording, visit https://vimeo.com/629946994 and use the password SASVic_NTV_DVVIC2021

  • Using the MARAM framework, this webinar explored how services can respond collaboratively to keep perpetrators in view and accountable, and increase victim-survivor safety. Panellists from victim survivor, perpetrator intervention and sexual assault services offered offered insights and experiences of collaborative practice in the context of serious risk intimate partner sexual violence.

    To access the recording, visit https://vimeo.com/569223186 and use the password DVV_NTV_SASVic_2021

  • This webinar explored the complexities of responding to intimate partner sexual violence in LGBTIQ relationships; assumptions that practitioners often make about LGBTIQ relationships; the impact on risk and safety; and how to improve risk assessment and risk management under the MARAM framework.

    To access the recording, visit https://vimeo.com/531070089 and use the password: DVV_NTV_SASVic_2021

  • The webinar explored the foundations of asking and responding to sexual assault in the context of family violence, and drew on lived experience of navigating the service system.

    To access the recording visit https://vimeo.com/463679074 and use the password: DVV_NTV_CASA_2020

  • This webinar explored how we respond to sexual violence within intimate partner relationships as a coordinated system, highlighting how system responses can maintain a victim-survivor centred approach. Panelists offered their insights and practice expertise to respond appropriately to sexual violence, including how to utilise MARAM as an enabler of effective cross sector coordination. 

    To access the recording: https://vimeo.com/487021456 and use the password: DVV_NTV_CASA_2020

SASVic MARAM e-learning for sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour practitioners

The MARAM Framework provides guidance and directs system-wide responses to family violence risk identification, assessment and management across Victoria. These e-learning modules will help you to understand the framework and to undertake family violence screening, identification, risk assessment and management, information sharing and referral.

The e-learning modules include:

  • An overview of the MARAM Framework.

  • The 10 MARAM responsibilities in relation to victim survivors.

  • How to align practice with the 10 MARAM responsibilities.

  • MARAM risk assessment, risk management tools & resources.

Safe & Equal MARAM training modules

Safe & Equal was contracted by Family Safety Victoria to provide MARAM training modules, which staff from the specialist sexual assault sector can access.

Webinars

SASVic Sexual Harassment Webinar with Dr Fiona Vera Gray

Equity and access

2023 SASVic LGBTIQA+ Forum

On Tuesday 19 August, SASVic hosed its LGBTIQA+ Forum. This session aim to help you to:

  • understand the driver of LGBTIQA+ sexual and family violence

  • explore the unique context and contributing factors of sexual violence experienced by LGBTIQA+ people

  • recognise and understand rape myths and how they relate to LGBTIQA+ people’s experiences of sexual violence

  • increase your knowledge and understanding of how to provide a safe and inclusive response by LGBTIQ victim survivors.

The forum features Rainbow Health Australia and Dr Shaez Mortimer.

2022 SASVic LGBTIQA+ Forum

This forum features Rainbow Health Australian and the Zoe Belle Collective.

Resources for clients

Below is a short list of recently developed resources of people impacted by sexual violence. Please email comms@sasvic.org.au, if you would like to share a resource that your organisation has developed.

Sexual Assault Services Victoria

Grooming and child sexual abuse

Child sexual abuse - information for caregivers and parents

Affirmative consent key messages

Easy read guides: Making Rights Reality (currently being updated)

Cancer Council

Cervical cancer screen after sexual assault: Your right to important health care

eSafety Commission

How to report abuse and content to eSaftey

What is tech-based sexual violence?

Archived resources

Below is a list of older resources published the specialist sexual assault sector. If you have any questions about these, please email comms@sasvic.org.au

Sexual violence research

Capturing mothers’ experiences of hearing their children disclose sexual abuse when they too have a sexual abuse history by Erin R Logan (2015)
This project sought to understand the experience of mothers with histories of sexual abuse hearing their children disclose sexual abuse. Previous research has highlighted the importance of believing and supporting victim survivors of sexual abuse. Mothers with sexual abuse histories were interviewed about their experience of hearing their children’s disclosures of sexual abuse.

It’s all sexual assault: A service response in the face of the clergy abuse crisis by Shireen Gunn & Andrea Lockhart, Ballarat CASA (2014)
In 2012 Ballarat CASA found itself in the position of needing to respond to a steady increase of new referrals for men aged in their forties and fifties. At that time, the Victorian Parliament Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Religious and Other Organizations began to reveal the extent of the abuse that had occurred, particularly in Catholic Institutions in Ballarat.

Child sexual abuse and subsequent offending and victimisation: a 45 year follow-up study by James RP Ogloff, Magaret C Cutajar, Emily Mann & Paul Mullen from Australian Institute of Criminology (2012)
This study investigates whether a disproportionate number of CSA victims subsequently perpetrate offences and experience future victimisation compared with people who have not been sexually abused.

Practice resources

Creative arts in Group Work by Susan Bradborn, CASA House (2010)
Susan discusses how creative arts as a useful tool in sexual assault support group activities and how it can be integrated in many ways using a variety of modalities.

Dissociation and complex trauma by Esen Uygun, WestCASA (2014)
In this paper, Esen focuses on the work of Van der Hart, Nijenhuis and Steele’s (2006) The Theory of Structural Dissociation of the Personality (TSDP) in primary, secondary and tertiary level and how to work with these kind of presentation holding the 3-phase trauma in mind.

Program Evaluations

Trauma focused acceptance and commitment therapy by Caroline Burrows, Eastern CASA (2014)
An evaluation of a 10-week structured group program for adult survivors of sexual assault (both male and female) experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Body-based interventions in sexual assault: A pilot program evaluation by Tara Schintler and Georgia Taylor, WestCASA (2010)
This evaluation outlines a body-based pilot program that WestCASA delivered to female participants in 2009, comprising fourteen weeks of shiatsu therapy and an eight week yoga group. Outcomes indicated improved affect regulation, increased body awareness and reduction of trauma symptoms for participants. Learnings from providing a body-based program alongside talk-based therapy within a sexual assault service suggest the benefits of such a union.

Shared counselling pilot program by Pauline Gilbert, CASA House (2005)
In late 2003, CASA House discussed a shared counselling model and formed a working party to explore possibilities and prepare a recommendation. A literature search was undertaken that supported a postive response from participants and the practical and beneficial effectiveness of the shared counselling model.