by GRACE JOHNSON
New South Wales will hire dozens of sexual assault examiner nurses in a bid to help increasing numbers of sexual assault presentations and the statewide shortage of trained professionals.
Last Tuesday, the Minns Labor Government pledged almost $53 million to improve frontline trauma services for victims of sexual assault across NSW.
The funding package, rolled out over 4 years, will permanently recruit 36 Sexual Assault Examiner Nurses, 5 medical officers/staff specialists trained in sexual assault and domestic violence, and 7 paediatric child protection leads.
These 48 new positions will fill critical gaps in healthcare services for victims of sexual assault. The funding will ensure that sexual assault survivors have greater access to 24/7 crisis coverage in every local health district and health service across NSW. Specialist medical and forensic responses will be available within 2 hours of request.
A NSW Health spokesperson said “a medical and forensic response within two hours of request is to minimise wait times for the client and enable timely collection of forensic evidence.”
The 24/7 integrated crisis response is a joint service provided by a specially trained sexual assault counsellor and a medical and forensic examiner, ensuring that the immediate psychosocial, emotional, medical and, if requested, forensic needs of the person are addressed.
Minister for Health Ryan Park said, “these safe, integrated and free sexual assault services help manage the impact of trauma, support recovery, and promote long-term health and wellbeing.”
“These services also enable the collection of forensic evidence in a trauma-informed way with patient consent to support criminal investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators of sexual assault, reducing any delays and loss of evidence,” he continued.
The NSW Health spokesperson explained that a major focus of the intervention is to minimise trauma and to increase the likelihood of long-term recovery.
According to the most recent report of reported crime published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on 29 June 2023, covering the 2022 period, NSW has seen an 8% increase in victim numbers.
The number of sexual assault presentations to NSW Health are rising by the year, with 65,599 presentations in 2019-2020 compared with 53,065 presentations in 2016-2017.
But the statistics don’t always represent all the sexual assault crimes that are happening nationwide.
A spokesperson for the NSW Police Force said, “Sexual violence remains one of the most under-reported crimes in NSW.”
“We understand that reporting sexual assault can be distressing and traumatic for victims,” the spokesperson continued.
“The NSW Police Force continues to work with victim’s advocacy groups to build strategies to improve our victim-centric, trauma-informed response to sexual violence, and to break down barriers to reporting.”
Following the initial crisis response, sexual assault counsellors will respond holistically to the ongoing needs and priorities of people who have experienced sexual assault.
“This includes counselling to assist in recovery from trauma and increase safety and wellbeing, information about the person’s rights and options, advocacy, support with the criminal justice system, and trauma-informed medical care and follow-up as required,” said the NSW Health spokesperson.
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