SECASA

SECASA are pleased to be involved with the Police and Secondary Schools Forum, an important community initiative created by Frankston SOCIT. We look forward to future events, to continue these valuable conversations.

Exciting news!

We have a rare opening for our Responding to Disclosures of S*xual Assault training session happening next week for community stakeholders.

Don't miss out on this opportunity for professional growth and skill development!

Date: 18th July
Time: 9:30 to 1:00
Location: Dandenong ( details will be provided after booking is made)

Bookings can be made via Training and Education Programs < SECASA

We're celebrating NAIDOC Week at Monash Health. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for us to come together and pay respect to Elders, culture, and Country, and to recognise the achievements of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The theme for this year’s NAIDOC Week is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud. Represented by fire, a symbol of connection to country, this year’s theme honours the enduring strength and vitality of First Nation’s culture.

We would love to hear your feedback and idea's for SECASA's new Vision Statement via an online focus group.

We are looking for 8 clients who are representative of our programs and services, who will each receive a $50 voucher for their participation.

The focus group will be running online on Thursday 13th June 11am - 12pm.

Please contact SECASA Admin on 9928 8741 to register your interest.

SECASA staff 'Wearing Red' today in recognition of the What Were You Wearing? National Day of Action to end violence against women

Monash Health is aware that ZircoDATA, a Victorian-based company we used to scan archived historical documents, has experienced a data breach. We were recently informed that Monash Health data was involved in this breach.

Investigation analysis indicates that the Monash Health information involved in the ZircoDATA data breach relates to a selection of archived data from the family violence and sexual assault support units at Monash Medical Centre, the Queen Victoria Hospital, and Southern Health, limited to the period from 1970 to 1993.

For more information, please visit: https://monashhealth.org/cyber

Send a message to learn more

It is incredible to think that our health justice partnership with SECASA has been running since the mid-90’s - back when Paul Keating was Prime Minister!
What is at the heart of the strength and longevity of the program – is a desire of social workers, counsellors and lawyers to improve outcomes for clients and contribute to their recovery from the trauma of sexual assault and family violence.
SMLS and SECASA have together assisted around 3500 victim-survivors to make Victims of Crime Applications since we launched our health justice partnership nearly 30 years ago recognising the importance of supporting people with complex intersecting health and legal issues.
The Integrated Services for Survivor Advocacy (ISSA) is one of the longest running health justice partnerships in Australia and is run between our service and the South Eastern Centre Against S*xual Assault and Family Violence (SECASA) in Victoria.
This report from Health Justice Australia showcases a variety of research which has been completed as part of a broader project to identify the outcomes that are commonly expected from working together in health justice partnership and to develop shared indicators for the impact of this work.
This work will help further evolve a theory of change about what types of activities, processes or relationships support different outcomes and what happens when these are not present.
For more details or to read the report visit: www.healthjustice.org.au/resource/report/sustaining-health-justice-partnerships-learning-from-the-experience-of-the-integrated-services-for-survivor-advocacy-partnership/

SECASA are incredibly grateful for the generous donation from Deb Brook and the team at Bayside Community Emergency Relief of $5,000 in materials for our counselling programs.

Thanks again Bayside Community Emergency Relief

Pictured: SECASA and Bayside Community Emergency Relief with some of the donated materials

SECASA recognises the significance of fostering collaborative relationships among parents, caregivers, teachers, and school staff, emphasising the shared responsibility in building safer communities.

Facilitated by SECASA's Primary Prevention Team, we are hosting a 90-minute session to engage participants in discussions, interactive activities, and relevant scenarios pertaining to child safety.

The objective of this session is to enhance parents and carers understanding of Protective Behaviours Education and emphasise its importance across different life stages.

The session will focus on empowering children and young people, while equipping parents and carers with the knowledge and tools to effectively continue conversations at home about body safety, personal boundaries, consent, respectful relationships and online safety.

Additionally, participants will receive information about available resources for seeking support in sensitive situations including responding to disclosures of sexual assault.

We hope you can join us.

SECASA offers a range of community and professional training for those interested in gaining skills and insight into working with people of all genders who have experienced sexual assault and family violence.

'Responding to Disclosures of S*xual Assault' Training is open for bookings. Thursday 14th March, 9.30AM to 1.00 PM.

See the SECASA Eventbrite page for details and to book your place.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/responding-to-disclosures-of-sexual-assault-tickets-790727074967?aff=oddtdtcreator

Workshops will take place in Dandenong.

SECASA staff attending Midsumma Festival on the weekend! 🌈

Thank you to our Trusted eSafety Providers for their incredible efforts providing online safety education to more than 1.3 million students, parents and educators in 2022-23 👏

The providers worked with over 5,000 schools to deliver guidance to more than 1.1 million Australian students, 145,000 parents and 31,000 educators across the 12 months.

Trusted eSafety Providers are endorsed by eSafety after demonstrating their expertise and experience, commitment to evaluation and improvement, and compliance with appropriate child safety and insurance requirements.

A huge congratulations to Alannah & Madeline Foundation, Backflips Against Bullying (Action Education), Body Safety Australia, Brainstorm Productions, Bravehearts, Bully Zero Australia Foundation, Cyber Safety Project, The CyberPass, Cybersafe Families, DiGii Social, Elephant Ed, eSafeKids, Evolve Education, Eyes Open Social Media Safety, Inform & Empower, Brett Lee and Internet Safe Education, Interrelate, Healthy Harold, Online Guardians, Optus Digital Thumbprint, PROJECT ROCKIT, Real Talk Australia, S*x Education Australia, S*xual Health Victoria, South Eastern Centre Against S*xual Assault (SECASA), The Carly Ryan Foundation Inc., WA Child Safety Services - WACSS and yourtown Australia.

More info: https://news.esafety.gov.au/3REXuQO

SECASA staff attending the Dandenong Walk Against Family Violence 2023

Last week SECASA participated in the Wellbeing Expo at Dandenong High School.

The interest from the students and teachers was very encouraging. Our activities and display generated lots of discussion and led to questions around being safe online and understanding the consent continuum .

Here's to building safer communities through increased awareness and education .

Pictured: Primary Prevention Team at Dandenong High School

SECASA are incredibly grateful for the generous donation from the Commonwealth Bank.

Lakshmi Mahesh from the Commonwealth Bank attend our service earlier this week to hear more about our programs and meet with some of our staff.

This donation will go towards our SECASA well-being Programs.

Thanks again Commonwealth Bank

Pictured: Vanessa Jones SECASA, Lakshmi Mahesh Commonwealth Bank and Kathryn Churchill SECASA

Over the weekend SECASA staff supported The Durga Chronicles at Bunjil Place, an award winning performance using dance, Carnatic music and visual storytelling to explore issues of social justice and gendered violence.

This video follows Suzanne, a Clinical Lead at the South Eastern Centre Against S*xual Assault (SECASA).

Suzanne explains her role in supporting staff by providing clinical guidance and supervision, as well as talking about her passion for working with children, young people and families.

A Day in the Life of... Suzanne: A Clinical Lead This video follows Suzanne, a Clinical Lead at the South Eastern Centre Against S*xual Assault (SECASA). Suzanne explains her role in supporting staff by pro...

The SECASA Primary Prevention Program are now taking bookings for 2024. If you are interested in a student / teacher program please contact us on 9928 8741.

‘Strong Together’ Survivors’ Art Show Program

Do you want to part of an art show and share your story?

Engage in 1-3 supported sessions to create an artwork about your experience of abuse and/or recovery.

For all SECASA clients, all genders, 17 years and over, all basic materials supplied, no experience necessary.

To register your interest or for additional information, contact your counselor advocate or call SECASA on 9928 8741 and speak to our Art Therapists, Maria or Stephanie.

SECASA are incredibly grateful for the generous donation from the Commonwealth Bank - National Community Donations Program.

This donation means we are able to provide a wider range of ther**eutic services and modalities in order to support a holistic program for our clients on their recovery from the trauma of sexual assault and family violence.

Thanks again Commonwealth Bank

Today, Thursday 16 March is National Close the Gap Day.

Close the Gap Day is a chance to highlight the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in health outcomes, life expectancy and economic opportunity.

At Monash Health, we’re committed to working together to overcome the inequality experienced by First Nations peoples to achieve life outcomes equal to all Australians.

We have a number of important initiatives across Monash Health to close the gap, including the Healthy Koori Kids clinic, Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officers, Access and Support Workers and the Aboriginal Midwife team. If you would like to learn more about these initiatives, visit: https://monashhealth.org/latest-news/2023/03/16/national-close-the-gap-day/

Later this year, we will publish our 2022-2025 Reconciliation Action Plan. Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) are essential for closing the gap by providing tangible and substantive benefits to all people, increasing economic equity and First Nations peoples’ self-determination.

To get a sense of the change, our Reconciliation Action Plan will create, read our last RAP: https://monashhealth.org/about/publications/reconciliation-action-plan/

A beautiful day to take Pride in Care at Midsumma!

SECASA marching with our Monash Health rainbow community.

With School starting back next week, here is some helpful online safety information from the Australian Federal Police

The internet moves ridiculously fast (RIP Myspace, MSN and Vine), so if you have children in your life, it’s vital that both they and you are educated about online safety.

The AFP and the eSafety Commissioner are calling on parents, carers and educators to start this new school year by having these important conversations with children. As soon as you hand a child a device, please talk to them about the dos and don’ts of the online world, while still letting them know they will be supported if anything goes wrong.

Here’s some easy guides to get you started:
🔗Social media starter kit for when your child is beginning to sign up to social media: www.thinkuknow.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-02/ThinkUKnow%20social%20media%20starter%20kit_1.pdf

🔗Gaming, devices and what you need to know: www.thinkuknow.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-11/Gaming%2C%20devices%20and%20what%20you%20need%20to%20know%20-%202022%20holidays.pdf

🔗The eSafety for kids guide: www.esafety.gov.au/kids

🔗Fact sheet on preventing online child sexual exploitation: www.thinkuknow.org.au/sites/default/files/2020-10/Fact%20sheet%20Preventing%20online%20child%20sexual%20exploitation_0.pdf

🔗Our eSafety Toolkit for schools: https://www.esafety.gov.au/educators/toolkit-schools

And yes, we know what 🌽 means, and you will too if you keep yourself updated around online safety.

📰 Read more: www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/afp-and-esafety-join-forces-online-safety-education-school-returns

Come down, hear about our programs and meet some of the SECASA team who are at Midsumma Festival today!

SASVic's Statement on George Pell:

Over the past two days, we have reflected on the coverage of George Pell's death and why it is stirring so many complex and intense emotions across our community.

To many of us, Pell was not just the face of the Catholic church in Australia; he embodied the systemic sexual abuse of children by the Catholic church. He was part of the last generation that believed they could commit and facilitate this violence with total impunity. He was one of the few who, due to the heroic efforts of survivors, their families and advocates, faced some small degree of accountability during his lifetime, though not nearly enough.

George Pell's trial was a potent example, too, of the current limits of the law in grappling on sexual assault.

It has been 10 years since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child S*xual Abuse was established and where over 16,000 individuals told their stories. The Royal Commission found that the greatest number of alleged perpetrators and abused children were in Catholic institutions.[1] George Pell will forever represent this horror and the historical generational shift that followed.

For this reason, we want to acknowledge the distress and hurt experienced, particularly by survivors of church abuse, when George Pell's complicity in institutional child sexual abuse is minimised and his failure of leadership is condoned. Such distress is made more acute when praise comes from powerful public figures.

When there is intense media coverage of high-profile sexual violence cases, we see an increased demand for the specialist ther**eutic support provided by our member services. When George Pell was accused of sexual abuse himself in 2017, the sector received funding colloquially known as the 'George Pell funding boost'. This is part of the legacy he leaves.

Now, as his death dominates the news, the essential staff in our specialist sexual assault services will be the first place to call for many survivors. Long before the Australian community and government recognised the widespread nature of institutional child abuse, Counsellor Advocates and services in our sector believed survivors and backed them, amplifying their voices and fighting for change. The work of Ballarat CASA exemplifies this. We take great pride in their role in exposing the violence in the Ballarat Diocese and in supporting survivors in their healing and struggle for justice. We know that for staff there, and in our services across the state, this work has required sacrifice and struggle.

We hear many articles talk about Pell as a big man, in stature, status and the power that he had over others and within the Catholic church. Indeed, the struggle for institutional child sexual abuse to be admitted to and stopped has been a David and Goliath battle. Survivors and other advocates have taken on mighty figures such as Pell, and, ultimately, have prevailed.

The vast majority of Australians now recognise that institutional child sexual abuse is pervasive and pernicious. Legal changes such as reform of tendency and coincidence evidence rules will change trials for the better. Survivors have forced the Catholic church and other institutions to compensate them. The Royal Commission has ensured that institutional leaders know they will now be brought to account if they enable child sexual abuse.

Significant change is still needed so that survivors do not continue to pay such a high price but there is no doubt that in challenging men like Pell, survivors and their advocates have created deep change. That Pell's name and legacy will always be linked to the Catholic Church's culpability in the r**e of children is one significant sign of that.

https://www.sasvic.org.au/news/george-pells-legacy

Rose is our newest team member, she is an experienced music therapist who has worked across the lifespan; with homeless teens, in women's refuge and across multiple programs at Monash Health.

Rose is passionate about introducing music to our clients at SECASA as a resource to promote wellness and recovery.

SECASA are incredibly grateful for the amazing fundraising efforts by the Monash ALP Labor Club!

Over $2500 has been raised to assist with purchasing equipment for our Expressive Therapies Program (Music Therapy, Play Therapy and Art Therapy).

This donation means we are able to provide a wider range of ther**eutic services and modalities in order to support a holistic program for our clients on their recovery from the trauma of sexual assault and family violence.

Thanks again Monash ALP Labor Club

Women’s Health Week (5 – 11 September) is an opportunity to remind all women, girls and gender diverse people to make good health, both in mind and body, a priority.

This year’s theme, ‘It’s all about you’, encourages you to make healthier choices and improve your health by setting aside time for your health and wellbeing.

This may include ensuring you are up to date with your regular health checks, starting a new hobby to get active, or connecting with friends, family, or colleagues.

Remember that focusing on yourself doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. For every area of your health and wellbeing, there is information, resources, support services, and activities you can get involved in to empower yourself to put your health first.

What’s your top tip to stay healthy? Comment below 😊