Page 717 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
with the ability to see patients at Calvary Hospital - 24 hours a day 7 days a week;
(b) the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, which supports people who have experienced sexual assault, is funded to have a support person available 7am to 11pm daily, however patients who present at the FAMSAC are able to contact the Centre for in-person counsellor attendance; and
(c) clear and timely access to forensic services is important for people who are reporting a recent sexual assault, because they are asked to not wash, eat or change their clothes until after the forensic procedures have been undertaken.”
(2) Omit paragraphs (2) (c), (d) and (e) and substitute:
“(c) consider staffing arrangements at the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre and Victim Support ACT so that their support workers are available to counsel victims of sexual assault through this process and other support needs are met 24 hours a day 7 days a week;
(d) investigate the possibility of the FAMSAC service being mobile and able to attend a private residence or workplace or other public place if there is a need or that is the preference of the victim of the sexual assault; and
(e) report back to the Assembly on the progress of these matters regarding the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre and the FAMSAC service by the first sitting day in August 2021.”
I also, of course, attended the women’s March 4 Justice. It was a remarkable experience to stand with all those women, and many men as well, who were there in solidarity, to hear Brittany and the other speakers and to hear people like Biff Ward who have been talking about this issue for a long time. This is not a new issue but, as others have said, women and our allies are standing up now and saying enough is enough; something must be done about the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual assault in our community.
As the Deputy Chief Minister has said, and many others, there would be very few women who have not had this experience. I know there was a debate about this yesterday in this chamber and many of the women here made the same point. There would be very few of us who have not experienced at least sexual harassment and many of us would have experienced what would be accurately described as sexual assault at some time in our lives. For many people, myself included, the last few weeks have been a difficult time of reliving those experiences. As others have said to me—and certainly in my experience—in some ways it is more traumatic when we reflect on it and realise what happened to us than it was at the time, when it was a part of life and something that you just got through and got on with.
The types of sexual assault we are talking about here today—where people experience a sexual assault or rape and need the supports of our amazing Forensic and Medical Sexual Assault Care services at Canberra Hospital or the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre—are incredibly serious matters. Mrs Jones’s motion is very timely and very important in bringing forward a case to ensure that those who have been sexually assaulted have access to the support and care they need when they need it most. When
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video