Annie* waited more than a decade before she told police she was raped on three occasions by her former partner.
Key points:
- Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows 87 per cent of women who experience sexual assault do not contact police
- Annie only reported her rape so it was recorded in the statistics, believing accurate information was needed for change to happen
- A support service says one of the barriers is victim-survivors not understanding what constitutes a sexual assault
She said she told Cameron* she did not want to have sex, but he proceeded anyway.
“I just felt so violated by him,” she said.
Annie fell pregnant during the relationship and they separated early in her pregnancy.
She said she experienced strong physical and emotional responses during her pregnancy, which she believed stemmed from sexual assault.
“I was vomiting a lot because I’m having flashbacks, nightmares, and just pervasive sort of thoughts that I couldn’t control, and fear about what he was going to do because he was so unpredictable, and it seemed like he was so committed to harming me,” she said.
“It’s been devastating.”
Annie said the rapes tied into a web of family violence involving sexual assault, emotional abuse and coercive control.
Although she has not attempted to have Cameron convicted, police have taken out family violence orders against him.
It has taken Annie years to reconcile her experience.
“I now understand that those are regarded as rapes, and I certainly felt that I’d been raped, but I never really talked about that because I didn’t want to undermine the experiences of people that had ‘genuinely’ been raped by saying that I felt like I had,” she said.
“It’s only been in recent years that I’ve been able to put the whole picture together and put words to my experience and feel like I can talk about it as a genuine victim.”
Investigating ‘just not worth it’
But she only reported it so it could be recorded in the statistics, believing that for change to happen accurate information is needed about how many people it affects.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows 87 per cent of women who experience sexual assault do not contact police.
Both women and men are more likely to be sexually assaulted by someone they know, the most common perpetrator for women being an intimate partner.
“I asked [police] not to investigate it because I don’t want to go down that path of having charges laid, because I fear for the backlash from my perpetrator, and I know how damaging that process is going to be to me,” Annie said.
“When you’re assessing the risk, versus the potential outcomes, it’s just not worth it.”
A Tasmania Police spokesperson said police respected a victim-survivor’s right to recovery might take priority over a criminal investigation, but officers would record it.
“Victim-survivors have the right to make choices about the commencement or continuation of an investigation, and to change their minds at any stage if they wish to do so,” they said.
Justice system not ‘the right response for everybody’
Women’s Legal Service Tasmania chief executive Yvette Cehtel said victim-survivors often did not recognise sexual assault in intimate partnerships.
“There’s some reluctance still to report because people think they’re not going to be believed,” she said.
Ms Cehtel said the legal response could exacerbate feeling disbelieved.
She said after police take a statement, the director of public prosecutions considered the public interest in pursuing the case, the evidence, and the likelihood of success.
Ms Cehtel said victim-survivors weighed up their own mental health against the trauma of reporting and giving evidence.
She said victim-survivors needed legal advice, social workers, counselling and other support straight up to help them decide on their best course.
“Once they decide to report, all the decision-making leaves that person, so people need to make an informed decision about whether dealing with the justice system is good for them, because I don’t think we can assume that that is the right response for everybody,” she said.
Tasmania Police said victim-survivors were informed about their options, including evidentiary considerations, allowing them to make informed choices about whether to engage with police.
Community education crucial
Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS) provides immediate crisis support, counselling, help coordinating forensic medical examinations, and links to other support services.
SASS saw 1,660 clients in the last financial year, up from 1,360 in the previous, many relating to sexual assault within intimate partnerships.
Acting chief executive Jo Bailey said not understanding what constituted sexual violence, fear for children, financial stress, and not knowing where to turn could stop people reporting intimate partner sexual assault.
“We need to ensure that all our support services and our systems are centred on the needs of the survivor, and we need to be trauma-informed at all levels of that, right from that initial point of contact so that we are supporting them,” she said.
Ms Bailey said educating the community on what constituted sexual violence and what support was available was crucial.
And she said there was a growing demand for primary prevention education across schools, workplaces and community organisations.
She commended the Tasmanian government for including stealthing and strangulation in the criminal code, saying it sent a message about what is not acceptable.
“We know from talking to survivors, that this awareness provides them with courage and confidence to seek support, whether it be for recent or historical sexual violence,” she said.
Support ‘a top priority’
Tasmanian Attorney-General and acting minister for women Elise Archer said the government took all incidences of family and sexual violence seriously and was committed to supporting victim-survivors.
Ms Archer said the government’s Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan 2022-2027: Survivors at the Centre prioritised strengthening service delivery.
The government had also committed to piloting two multidisciplinary centres, which would offer trauma-informed and coordinated wraparound support and safety services, including counselling and specialist investigators.
“Ensuring victim-survivors of family and sexual violence receive immediate and integrated support in a safe place is a top priority for our government,” Ms Archer said.
Ms Archer said victim-survivors could use the Victims of Crime Service, which provides statewide counselling.
“Victim of Crime counsellors are experts in explaining the complex criminal justice processes and providing support throughout.”
Ms Archer said counsellors could explain an investigation’s status, explain charges and why they might change, assist in writing a victim impact statement, and provide court updates and support.
“With [a] particularly vulnerable witness, the counsellor is often heavily involved in them giving evidence, as an extra layer of support for the victim,” she said.