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Ms ANGELA D'AMORE (Drummoyne) [5.47 p.m.]: Tonight I acknowledge the fantastic work and services undertaken by the staff at the New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre, which is located at Drummoyne. The New South Wales Rape Crisis is a statewide 24-hour telephone and online crisis, support and referral service for women who have experienced sexual violence. The centre is committed to upholding the rights of women to live in a socially just, equitable and non-violent society. Counsellors work in partnership with women to expand their choices, facilitate healing and encourage personal growth. The fundamental service principles on which the centre operates are that all forms of sexual violence are a crime, all women have the human right to live free of violence, sexual assault is an extreme act of violence, and perpetrators of sexual violence aim to terrorise, degrade and humiliate their victims and place themselves in a position of power and control.
The New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre was established in the early 1970s by a group of volunteer women. These women would travel all over Sydney to pick up women who had been sexually assaulted and bring them to the centre for counselling and medical help. In 1974 the Whitlam Government provided funding to the centre and workers were employed for the first time. The centre is now funded by the New South Wales Department of Health but remains a non-profit community group managed by a group of committed community women. I am also happy to note that, as part of the celebrations for International Women's Day 2006, I nominated Karen Willis, Manager of the New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre, for the award of New South Wales Woman of the Year for the electorate of Drummoyne in recognition of the wonderful work she undertakes.
The fact is that any woman can be raped, regardless of age, race, class, religion, occupation, education or physical ability. Rape is a violent assault that is acted out, in part, sexually. Through psychological, verbal and physical abuse, rape violates a woman's personal integrity and her sense of safety and control over her life. Most rapes occur at home. More often than not the offender is a relative, friend, neighbour or acquaintance. Most rapists look perfectly normal. They can be any age, race or colour, have any occupation and be from any socioeconomic class. Most victims of sexual assault are female, although Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show 17 per cent of rape victims are males, with over half of those being under 15 years of age. In 70 per cent of sexual assaults the rapist is well known to the victim.
The New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre responds to approximately 3,500 calls per annum. In 2005 9,465 sexual and indecent assaults were reported to New South Wales police. The Australian Bureau of Crime Statistics estimates 20 per cent of sexual assaults are reported. Females aged from four months to 92 years have been reported raped, which shows that rape is an act of violence that can happen at any time in a person's life. The Rape Crisis Centre works in partnerships and projects that have statewide benefits.
In December 2004, as a result of representations by New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre and Dr Anne Cossins from the Law Faculty of the University of New South Wales, the Attorney General, Bob Debus, established the Criminal Justice Sexual Offences Task Force. The task force met for 12 months and reported to the Attorney General in December 2005. The task force was charged to evaluate models for the prosecution of sexual assault offences, evaluate proposals for legislative and procedural change in sexual assault prosecutions in New South Wales and identify areas of possible reform in relation to the provision of services for sexual assault victims. The New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre is also working in partnership with the New South Wales police force to enhance protocols such as management of complaints of sexual assault, training for frontline police, debriefing for police who have responded to a sexual complaint and sex crimes squad mentoring of local area command detectives.
The rape crisis online service was launched on the 19 December 2005. A $10,000 grant was provided in 2005 by the State Government to assist in the establishment of the online service. Via the centre's website people can make one-to-one contact with a counsellor for information and basic support. This online service is also valuable in reaching out to our rural and remote women, who often do not have services close by. I extend my thanks to Minister Scully for personally attending the Rape Crisis Centre with me earlier this year to view the online service and I thank the staff of the centre for their dedication and service to the community. In market research to identify the viability of Rape Crisis on Line, one respondent said, "You can't cry and talk, but you can cry and type."
The sexual ethics project is a research project working to understand how young people make decisions about sexual intimacy and aims to encourage ethical sexual practices. By understanding how decisions about sex are made in one's youth, we can then work to encourage better practices. The New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre is working closely with the National Rugby League to encourage ethical sexual practices amongst players. This is the first time in Australia that a large male-dominated organisation has taken these steps and backed up its position with money and resources. There is still a long way to go, but it is a step in the right direction. I consider sexual assault of women as one of the most disgraceful crimes against women. I have extremely strong views on this issue. At least we are going in the right direction. I commend the work of the women of the New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre in helping women in the community.