Tuesday, 14 May 2024

 Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (13:08): (849) My question is for the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence regarding an increase in demand for sexual assault and family violence services being experienced by the western region at the Centre Against Sexual Assault, with an urgent need for additional funding to support their delivery. Can the minister please update my constituents on the government’s plan to address the heightened demand for family violence and sexual assault services for some of the most vulnerable and culturally diverse individuals within my electorate of Western Metropolitan Region? I recently met with Annette Vickery, the CEO of Western Region Centre Against Sexual Assault, an organisation based in my electorate which is essentially a support service for victims of sexual crimes and family violence. It has come to my attention that current demand far exceeds their capacity to deliver trauma-informed support to victim-survivors. This is long overdue for the waiting list of Western Metropolitan Region, which will have a population expansion of over 50 per cent over the next 15 years.