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About Us
SASS provides
counselling, support and information for those who have experienced
sexual assault at any time during their lives, whether the offender
was an acquaintance, stranger or family member. Services for
individuals include:
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Individual
and group counselling and support for children (aged 0-12) and
their families/carers,
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Crisis and
ongoing counselling and support for men and women aged 13 and
over
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Support
for statements and forensic examinations,
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Support for
non-abusing caregivers and support people
SASS also
provides a 24 hour telephone crisis line, (03) 6231 1817. This line
is often an important point of contact for recent assault victims,
suicidal clients, parents of children who have disclosed abuse and
partners of survivors.
This service is government funded and is FREE.
Other
core functions of SASS include:
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Working
towards the prevention of sexual assault and the creation of a
"survivor friendly" community within the southern region of
Tasmania
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Community
education for the general community and training in sexual
assault issues for workers in community services
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Resourcing
the Sexual Assault Medical Service (SAMS) and offering
appropriate training to the staff of the Department of Health
and Human Services (DHHS)
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Lobbying for
change in government and departmental policy and input into
legislation
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Professional
support and debriefing to other agency workers, working with
sexual assault survivors
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Support and
advocacy through medical, legal and police processes
Sexual assault
is an overwhelming and frightening experience and can lead to a
variety of problems and conflicting feelings. Talking about your
feelings can help you to understand them.
Although SASS is a confidential service, it is mandated by the
government to report to the Department of Health and Human Services
when a person under the age of 18 is being abused or is at risk of
abuse. Other exceptions to confidentiality are when someone
attending the service gives their written permission to talk to
other relevant agencies or when there is a risk of serious harm to
themselves or others.
"You can still
use SASS even if you decide not to report the assault to the
police."
The Facts:
A range of published research has suggested that in Australia:
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1 in 4 girls
and 1 in 6 boys have experienced some form of child sexual abuse
before the age of 18
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Most
offenders are male. They may be of any age, cultural background,
race, social class or income level
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Most victims
are female, although males are also victims of sexual abuse
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The offender
is known to most victims
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Victims are
more likely to be assaulted in their own home than in the street
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Many sexual
assaults go unreported to the police
Services:
SASS provides counselling support and information for those who have
been affected by sexual assault anytime during their life, whether
the offender was an acquaintance, a stranger or a family member.
These services
include:
-
Individual
and group counselling and support for children 0-12 and their
non-abusive families/carers
-
Crisis and
ongoing counselling and support for men and
women aged 13 and over,
-
Support
for statements and forensic examinations,
-
Support for
non-abusive care givers and support people.
For example, this means you can:
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Ask for help
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Be supported
through a crisis anytime day or night
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Have a SASS
worker there when you:
Talk to the police - Go to the doctor - Go to court
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Have a SASS
worker help you talk with:
Your school - Your work - Your family - Government departments -
Other agencies
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Talk to
someone during or after a crisis,
face to face or by phone
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Have ongoing
counselling for issues related to sexual assault that happened
at any time during your life.
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Borrow
books, tapes, videos, articles, reports etc from our library
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Ask us to
send you information
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Join our
various groups
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Ask us to
provide specialist education to a group that you are involved
with.
SASS also provides a 24 hour telephone crisis line to any member of
the community whose life has been affected by sexual assault. This
line is often an important point of contact for recent rape victims,
suicidal clients, parents of children who have disclosed abuse and
partners of survivors.
"You can still use this service if you decide not to report the
assault to the police."
Although SASS is a confidential service, it is mandated by the
government to report to the Department of Health and Human Services
when a person under the age of 18 is being abused or is at risk of
abuse.
Other exceptions to confidentiality are when
someone attending the service gives their written permission
to talk to other relevant agencies or when there is a risk of
serious harm to themselves or others.
2008 - 2009 Annual Report
Click on the button
below to bring up a PDF copy of the SASS 2008-2009 Annual Report
(2.6 Mb);
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