Service providers assisting victims of sexual assault have been given a shot in the arm with the state government announcing the immediate release of $175,000 additional funding ahead of the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Abuse’s recommendations.
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The funding, which has been allocated in anticipation of a spike in service demand, will see $50,000 allocated to the Sexual Assault Crisis Line, which is a statewide, after hours confidential counselling service.
In a statement, Families and Children Minister Jenny Mikakos said “I hope this additional support will give some comfort and assistance through what is an extremely difficult time”.
“The only reason this Royal Commission exists is because of the courage of these victim-survivors who bravely told their stories – there is no way we are going to let them go through this alone”, Ms Mikakos said.
The announcement comes after the commission handed down a scathing report into the response to sexual abuse from the Catholic Ballarat Diocese, from which there was 140 complaints heard at the inquiry.
The diocese which takes in almost all of the western half of Victoria was home to some of the country’s most notorious paedophiles including Gerald Ridsdale, who had 78 claims made against him throughout the commission.
The remaining $125,000 in funding will be immediately available to agencies across the state such as the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault as well as to the Aboriginal Child Care Agency to assist Aboriginal sexual assault victims.
The state funding boost comes after Ballarat CASA received more than $106,000 in 2016 which was left over from a crowdfunding effort to send survivors of sexual assault to hear Cardinal George Pell’s testimony to the commission in Rome.
The funds were used to hire an additional case manager to help assess victims of institutional sexual violence.
In a statement Wendouree MP Sharon Knight said “we’re making sure survivors have the support they need to through this traumatic and emotional time”.
“We want services that are well resourced and ready to help when they are needed the most,” Ms Knight said.
To contact CASA, located on the corner of Vale and Edwards streets, Sebastopol, call 5320 3933 or free call 24 hours 1800 806 292. Lifeline can be accessed on 13 11 14.