Sexual abuse and assault
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Follow the links below to find trusted information about sexual abuse and assault.
Last reviewed: May 2018
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Top results
Protect your child from sexual abuse - NT.GOV.AU
Find out more about protecting your child from sexual abuse.
Read more on NT Health website
Sexual assault information for men
There are specific issues that affect men who have been sexually assaulted or abused.
Read more on WA Health website
Sexual assault support | Abuse and violence | ReachOut Australia
If youve been sexually assaulted, you can get help and support.
Read more on ReachOut.com website
What is sexual assault? | Abuse and violence | ReachOut Australia
If youve been sexually assaulted, you might experience a range of emotions and its important to know there are support services that can help you.
Read more on ReachOut.com website
What to do if you want to report sexual assault to the police
You may decide you want to report the sexual assault or sexual abuse to the police. This is an individual decision which only you can make.
Read more on WA Health website
Common myths about sexual assault
There are many myths and untruths about sexual assault and sexual abuse. These are often disguised as facts or are community held beliefs. These myths can make it hard for people to recover because they tend to blame the victim and defend the perpetrator.
Read more on WA Health website
Offensive and illegal content complaints | Office of the eSafety Commissioner
Investigating complaints about potential illegal online material and working toward the rapid reporting and removal of online child sexual abuse material.
Read more on Office of the eSafety Commissioner website
Child sexual assault: protecting your child - myDr.com.au
Child sexual assault: how to help protect your child; signs of child sexual assault; and what to do if you suspect child sexual assault.
Read more on myDr website
Sexual assault TINO : Tune In Not Out
Sexual assault is not OK. There is no excuse. Sexual assault can cover a wide range of unwanted sexual behaviour.
Read more on Tune In Not Out website
Sexual assault referral centres - NT.GOV.AU
Sexual assault referral centres can give you support if you have experienced sexual assault.
Read more on NT Health website
Top results
School-based programmes for the prevention of child sexual abuse | Cochrane
School-based education programmes for the prevention of child sexual abuse have been implemented on a large scale in some countries. We reviewed the evidence for the effectiveness of these programmes in the following areas: (i) children's skills in protective behaviours; (ii) children's knowledge of child sexual abuse prevention concepts; (iii) children's retention of protective behaviours over time; (iv) children's retention of knowledge over time; (v) parental or child anxiety or fear as a result of programme participation; and (vi) disclosures of past or current child sexual abuse during or after programmes. The evidence is current to September 2014.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Cognitive behavioural interventions for children who have been sexually abused | Cochrane
The sexual abuse of children is a substantial social problem that affects large numbers of children and young people worldwide. For many children, though not all, it can result in a range of psychological and behavioural problems, some of which can continue into adulthood. Knowing what is most likely to benefit children already traumatised by these events is important. This review aimed to find out if cognitive-behavioural approaches (CBT) help reduce the negative impact of sexual abuse on children. Ten studies, in which a total of 847 children participated, met the inclusion criteria for the review. The reporting of studies was poor, and there appear to be significant weaknesses in study quality. The evidence suggests that CBT may have a positive impact on the effects of child sexual abuse, including depression, post-traumatic stress and anxiety, but the results were generally modest. Implications for practice and further research are noted.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Sexual assault policies and procedures - Integrated Violence Abuse and Neglect
NSW Health delivers a range of programs to reduce the harm and impact of child abuse and neglect, sexual assault and domestic violence.
Read more on NSW Health website
School-based programmes for preventing child sex abuse may improve knowledge and self-protective behaviours but also increase anxiety; further research is needed | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Combined pharmacotherapy and psychological therapies for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | Cochrane
PTSD is a potentially debilitating anxiety disorder triggered by exposure to a traumatic experience such as an interpersonal event like physical or sexual assault, exposure to disaster or accidents, combat or witnessing a traumatic event. There are three main clusters of symptoms: firstly, those related to re-experiencing the event; secondly, those related to avoidance and arousal; and thirdly, the distress and impairment caused by the first two symptom clusters.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Nurses and Violence in the Workplace - Ausmed
Physical and verbal assault from our patients and their friends and relatives is not only difficult to deal with at the time but can have a long and lasting negative impact on our wellbeing and mental health
Read more on Ausmed Education website
Working with men who use violence or abuse in their relationships | MensLine Australia
Are you a health professional? Visit MensLine Australia for practical tips on recognising and managing issues relating to family violence.
Read more on MensLine Australia website
Indigenous child safety (AIHW)
Indigenous children are over represented in areas where child safety and security are compromised. This report shows that Indigenous children aged 017 have higher rates of hospitalisations and deaths due to injury than non Indigenous children; are more likely to be victims of child abuse, neglect and sexual assault; and are over represented in homelessness and youth justice statistics.
Read more on AIHW – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website
Cognitive behavioural therapy for men who physically abuse their female partner | Cochrane
Violence by men against an intimate female partner is a serious and common problem, with between 10% and 34% of women reporting in national surveys that they have been assaulted by a male partner. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is used to reduce male violence by bringing about changes in how men think about violence and how they manage their behaviour. Some men volunteer to attend CBT treatment, while others are court mandated to participate. We included trials that involved both types of participants. The review found all randomised controlled evaluations of the effects of CBT on men's physical violence to their female partners worldwide, but there were only six small trials with a total of 2343 participants that met the inclusion criteria. The results of four of these trials, which compared men who received CBT with men getting no treatment, were combined. This was not able to show us whether or not CBT was better than no treatment. Similarly, the individual results of the other two trials, which compared CBT with another treatment, were inconclusive. Overall, the evidence from the included studies is insufficient to draw any conclusions.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Interventions to prevent relationship and dating violence in adolescents and young people | Cochrane
Relationship and dating violence is a significant problem among adolescents and young adults. Relationship violence includes a range of violent behaviours, from verbal abuse to physical and sexual assault, and from threats to rape and murder. Currently there are many programmes in schools and universities and within community settings that aim to prevent relationship violence. It is important to establish whether these programmes work and whether they result in long-term reductions in relationship violence. This review looked at the results of 38 studies. The results showed no convincing evidence that the programmes decreased relationship violence, or that they improved participants' attitudes, behaviours and skills related to relationship violence. The results showed that participants' knowledge about relationships improved slightly following the programmes. These results should be interpreted with caution, as individual studies differed in the types of participants and interventions that they used and the ways in which changes were measured. None of the studies looked at the effect of the programmes on physical and mental health. Further studies, which follow participants for a longer period of time and which look at the relationship between attitudes, knowledge, behaviour, skills and the number of times relationship violence occurs, are required to improve our understanding of how well these programmes work.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
