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The Centre Against Sexual Assault should be 1 organisation rather than many
Proposal Summary
There are too many differences between different CASA's around Victoria. Different rules, wait periods for help, and different types of help. This is hard to navigate when experiencing trauma.
I have moved from location to location around Victoria and interstate whilst going through the police and court process of convicting my perpetrator. I had minimal help during this time and had to work it out on my own which was hard. It was really hard. Whilst I have lived in NSW I experienced being told from the service there that I couldn't receive help as the offence happened in VIC, and VIC services told me I couldn't receive help because I was located in NSW. I was alone.
Going through a court process is so hard and added to this, I was changing family norms over many generations, and finding things out that shocked me to the core, I lost friends and family. I had to stand alone and stand strong which really wasn't easy and I went through a period of suicidal ideation. I needed to get back to VIC to get CASA counseling but I had no money. Eventually after a few months of giving massages and not reporting this income to centrelink because they don't pay you enough to stay safe and especially when going through trauma, I managed to move back to VIC to get CASA counseling help because I didn't have support. I have moved to a few different locations in VIC juggling having an income and trying to be supported and each time being told I couldn't continue being supported by various CASA's because I was relocating to other areas in Victoria for various work contracts. I was going to be located too far from them meaning I needed to go onto a new waitlist for a new CASA. Most times I would call ahead to check in and see what availability they had and how long the waitlists were. Sometimes I would receive a few different job offers in different locations around Victoria and would call CASA's before relocating to see what availability they had. I've often been let down by different things at different CASA's and a part of this is how hard it is to learn things while you're struggling to survive and needing the help but it doesn't come, and if it does, there has been too many layers of trauma already there to get to the root cause in only a handful of counseling sessions allocated to you. I shouldn't have had to move around so much to get help that wasn't effective, and it shouldn't be this hard to find it.
I have also found it hard dealing with different rules between different CASA's. At one point I was waiting on a waitlist that I was told would only be 1 month, this ended up being 4 months and at the end of this time when I really needed help and it was 3 months after the end of the final sentencing court date for my case, I was knocked back from counseling. I was knocked back because I asked them for help with finding housing services. They said that they can't help people who are facing homelessness when having the counseling support at that time would have enabled me to feel more confident in sharing a house with a stranger. This is the only CASA I have come accross that holds this rule. As a result of this experience I lost a lot of trust with reaching out for help to CASA's. It was so damaging, it still is. This has become another layer of PTSD that I have to deal with on top of everything else.
There are also inconsistencies with support services provided at different CASA's. Some have support groups and some dont and unless you hunt around, you don't find them. There should be alot more opportunities to connect and learn from eachothers healing journeys together. I see LGBTIQ+ and Aboriginal groups that have been marginalised and disadvantaged and can communally, mostly safely come together. Sexual assault, and particularly childhood sexual assault isn't represented. There are no opportunities to openly come together and celebrate our strengths. We could heal so much through connection, and this shouldn't be limited to needing to stay in the state.
I have moved around based on the hope of having help and it has destabilised and traumatised me. There needs to be better help, I don't imagine it is only me who has had to move around for help, income, and safety, and I imagine there are a lot of people who have just given up. As a result of the difficulties I have faced in Victoria, I moved to South Australia for a couple of months late last year. The support there is also dismal for childhood sexual assault survivors. Their counseling service will only help people who have experienced sexual assault as an adult, not as a child. On average it takes 30 years for people to speak up about their experiences of sexual assault. It doesn't make sense why it's so hard to get support when I imagine we all want a safer neighborhood, state, and country. This shouldn't all fall on the shoulders of survivors to advocate for, it's hard enough dealing with a lifetime of trauma and trying to find a way to put it all behind you and just live and enjoy life like we are entitled to. We don't need to carry the weight of this world alone. Where is the help?
In summary, dealing with CASA's should be easy, getting help in Victoria or interstate should be easy. CASA should be consistent accross the state and should offer help to all victims in a variety of ways even if they aren't located in Victoria. CASA shouldn't create more harm, reaching out for help shouldn't create more harm. We deserve safety and support after a lifetime of not having it. The current support system is not adequate. The process of reshaping CASA should be client lead, and victim informed.
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