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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2020-06-30 Daily Xml
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Victim Support Services

Ms LUETHEN (King) (15:11): My question is to the Attorney-General. Can the Attorney-General outline to the house how the Marshall Liberal government is helping to support victims of rape and sexual assault?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (15:11): I thank the member for her question and her ongoing interest in relation to the—

Mr Hughes interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Giles!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —protection of women, particularly, and the services that I will outline today in respect of Yarrow Place. Members may be aware that Sarah Cooper, who is the manager of Yarrow Place, and her team undertake an extraordinary amount of work to support victims of rape and sexual assault. This is an area that, as Attorney-General, I am proud to say I have prioritised, the Premier has insisted that our team prioritise and he has, indeed, appointed a special parliamentary secretary in relation to this matter.

This year, to continue its work as the lead public health agency in responding to rape and sexual assault, Yarrow Place is to receive another $1.3 million to help it undertake this incredibly important work. It focuses on two key services: the Country Response Program and the forensic medical service. Members may be aware that the Victims of Crime Fund makes this contribution.

The Country Response Program provides victims with specialty counselling services and helps raise awareness of issues surrounding sexual assault and strengthening local services. The forensic medical service supports the cost of recruiting, retaining and upskilling medical staff who care for victims after hours, as well as the professional development activities.

I just want to highlight today, for members who don't know, that sometimes victims of sexual assault—this may occur whether the alleged perpetrator is a stranger or known to them—experience significant trauma and they are uncertain and undecided about whether to report the matter to the police. Yarrow Place provides a 'just in case' examination service. It means, forensically, that the evidence is stored and recorded, and of course treated in confidence, and available to provide to the police should the victim wish to proceed to report an assault.

Obviously, it is critical that this be both collated and stored and be available for forensic assessment at a later date. It is a really important service because, for victims in this area, it is a traumatic experience, but it is also a very difficult decision for some to make that next step. This is a means by which we are able to freeze the necessary evidence for the purposes of protecting it for future use should the victim wish to progress the matter.

I thank Sarah Cooper and her team for the work they do in continuing to provide those specialist services. It will give them security of that funding over a three-year funding agreement to begin tomorrow.

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