Latest action plan key to efforts to end sexual violence in Queensland

• The second Sexual Violence Prevention Action Plan runs from 2023-24 to 2027-28 and places victim-survivors at its centre.
• The plan captures the extensive work underway as recommended by the second report of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.

The Miles Government has launched its second action plan outlining initiatives designed to prevent and respond to sexual violence in the community.

The document builds upon the work of Prevent. Support. Believe. Queensland’s Framework to address Sexual Violence and its first action plan.

The Sexual Violence Prevention Action Plan runs from 2023-24 to 2027-28 and places victim-survivors at its centre. It captures the extensive work underway across government to prevent and respond to sexual violence, including in response to the second report of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.

The government committed $225 million over five years to support the implementation of the recommendations made in Hear Her Voice – Report Two.

Since 2015, the government has invested more than $1.5 billion in reforms and initiatives to address domestic, family and sexual violence, and to improve women’s and girl’s safety.

In 2023-24, the government also allocated $29.6 million to the specialist sexual assault and women’s health and wellbeing service sector, an increase of $6.5 million compared to the previous year.

Some of the actions in the plan include:

• developing a community education campaign to improve awareness and understanding of sexual violence and consent
• developing, piloting and evaluating a state-wide professional victim advocate service
• co-designing a victim-centric, trauma-informed service model for responding to sexual violence
• continuing to fund the Counselling Notes Protect program (formerly the Sexual Assault Counselling Privilege legal assistance service), currently delivered through Legal Aid Queensland and Women’s Legal Service Queensland
• implementing a comprehensive and integrated plan for the primary prevention of violence against women in Queensland.

Initiatives are being designed and implemented in consultation with people with lived experience, First Nations peoples, and service and legal system stakeholders.

The Sexual Violence Prevention Roundtable will inform and guide the implementation of the Second Action Plan and support the government in prioritising future areas of focus.

The First Action Plan Snapshot of Achievements was also released today, highlighting the progress achieved to date.

When the LNP was last in government, it cut $259 million from community sector organisations including many who dedicate their time supporting victim-survivors.

Quotes attributable to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Yvette D’Ath:

“While important progress has been made to tackle this issue, we know there is a lot more to do.

“Almost one in four Queensland women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Sadly, this data has remained relatively stable since 2016.

“We also know that survivors often face barriers when reporting violence and acknowledge that responses have not always been dealt with to community standards.

“Queenslanders’ understanding of consent and the impact of sexual assault has evolved in large part because of the bravery of women and girls who have shared their lived experiences and it is only right that our laws evolve as well.

“The second Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce report presented us with a blueprint for delivering trauma-informed responses to women who have come into contact with the criminal justice system.

“We’re also expanding the range of legal services and support available, upgrading our courts to make it easier for survivors to give evidence, and investing in initiatives that break down barriers to supporting survivors of sexual violence.”

Explainer/fast facts and further information:

In Queensland, 24 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, and 12 per cent experienced sexual abuse by an adult before the age of 15.

More information can be found here: Personal Safety, Australia, 2021-22 financial year | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)

Significant achievements delivered by the government to prevent and respond to sexual violence to date include:

• establishing the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce to undertake a comprehensive review of women’s experiences in the criminal justice system as victim-survivors of sexual offences, and committed $225 million over five years to support the implementation of the recommendations made in Hear Her Voice – Report Two
• releasing a strengthened Respect Program following a comprehensive review of the Respectful Relationships Education Program to strengthen understandings of consent and the drivers of gender-based violence
• increasing the number of clinicians trained to provide clinical forensic examinations to people who have experienced sexual assault
• implementing the Sexual Violence Response Strategy 2021-2023 to enhance the Queensland Police Service’s capacity to prevent, disrupt, respond and investigate sexual violence, put victims first and hold perpetrators accountable
• reviewing and amending the Industrial Relations Act 2016 to strengthen responses to sexual harassment
• partnering with the Australian Government under a new National Partnership on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses 2021-2027.

The second Sexual Violence Prevention Action Plan can be found here.

The First Action Plan Snapshot of Achievements can be found here.

ENDS

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