The Palaszczuk Government has today announced members of the state’s new Sexual Violence Prevention Roundtable which will help develop a new Sexual Violence Prevention Framework for Queensland.
Minister for Women Di Farmer said sexual violence could affect anyone – women, men, young people and children, but sadly women and girls carry the heaviest burden.
“This new Roundtable will bring together a wealth of experience and knowledge in one space to help us tackle this issue,” she said.
Ms Farmer said the Roundtable would provide insight on sexual violence issues, help identify priority areas of need, and provide advice on evidence-based approaches to addressing the causes of sexual violence.
“We hope that their work will also identify ways in which we can all better support victims and survivors of sexual violence so they can overcome the trauma they have experienced,” she said.
Ms Farmer said members of the Roundtable included sector and community representatives, academic experts as well as senior government representatives.
“The Roundtable will be chaired by Deputy Director-General Leigh Roach and includes representatives from the Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence, Immigrant Women’s Support Service, Women’s Legal Service Queensland and Griffith University,” she said.
“We also have community and sector representatives from the Women’s Health Centre in Rockhampton, Mob Kinnectors (Beenleigh and Logan) QUT, Micah Projects, Relationships Australia Queensland, Protect All Children Today, the DFV Implementation Council, YETI in Cairns, Laurel Place and R4Respect.
“These members will work with government representatives from the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Department of Education, Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Queensland Police, Department of Health and Department of Housing.”
Ms Farmer said the first meeting of Queensland’s Sexual Violence Prevention Roundtable is scheduled for March 12, and community consultation to support the Framework development would happen throughout March and April.
“Community consultation will give all Queenslanders the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas for ending sexual violence in our state, and ideas on how we can better support victims and survivors through an online survey – Get Involved,” she said.
“There will also be a Youth eHub project for young people aged 12 to 25 years of age.”
Ms Farmer said community forums would also be held in a number of regional locations to make sure voices from right across Queensland are heard.
“These forums will be open to members of the general public as well as local services, stakeholders and advocates,” she said.
“We need to make sure we all continue the conversation on sexual violence and this will be a great way of achieving that.”
Ms Farmer said the Sexual Violence Prevention Framework would be released this year and would set out a clear vision and objectives for addressing sexual violence in Queensland.
“It will also bring together the current policies, strategies, programs and services that are already helping to prevent and respond to sexual violence in our communities,” she said.
“Importantly it will also help us set priorities for action on this and guide future responses.”
Ms Farmer said the Framework would cover all forms of sexual violence including sexual assault and rape, sexual harassment, technology-facilitated sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
“It will also include a refresh of the Queensland Violence against Women Prevention Plan 2016-22, incorporate responses to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and actions to address youth sexual violence,’ she said.
Appointees are:
- Ms Leona Berrie – Queensland Sexual Assault Network
- Ms Di McLeod – Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence
- Ms Cecilia Barassi-Rubio – Immigrant Women’s Support Service
- Ms Angela Lynch – Women’s Legal Service Queensland
- Professor Patrick O’Leary – Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith Uni
- Dr Michael Flood – Queensland University of Technology
- Ms Karyn Walsh – Micah Projects
- Ms Cassandra Ashton – Relationships Australia Queensland
- Ms Jo Bryant – Protect All Children Today (PACT)
- Mr James Edney – YETI
- Ms Karren Aspinall – Laurel Place
- Ms Charmaine Law – Women’s Health Centre
- Ms Faith Green – Mob Kinnectors
- Ms Rachael Pascua – R4Respect Ambassador
- Ms Karni Liddell – DFV Implementation Council
