This page has been printed from the Yarrow Place website http://www.yarrowplace.sa.gov.au

Yarrow Place Rape and Sexual Assault Service is the South Australian specialist health service for people aged 16 years or older who have been raped or sexually assaulted. Yarrow Place is a community service auspiced by the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service and has four main roles:

• providing services to people who have been raped or sexually assaulted and who were aged 16 years and older at the time of the assault;
• providing information, training and support to other agencies and workers to provide services to victim/survivors;
• developing co-operation in policy, planning and service delivery across Government and non-Government agencies (a ‘lead agency’ role); and
• working to prevent rape and sexual assault.

History of Sexual Assault Services in South Australia

Yarrow Place was established in July 1993, but it was not the first service for people who have been sexually assaulted in South Australia.

The Sexual Assault Referral Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (SARC) was first established in the 1970’s. It was staffed by female doctors who provided medical care and forensic examinations to victims of all ages and both sexes.

During the early 1980’s, the Sexual Assault Referral Centre began to see increasing numbers of children, and increasing numbers of adults who had been sexually assaulted when they were children (known as ‘adult survivors of child sexual assault’). Social workers were employed to provide counselling and practical support to victims.

In the mid 1980’s, specialist Child Protection Services were established to deal with all forms of child abuse, including child sexual abuse, and so SARC stopped seeing child victims.
The Rape Crisis Centre also operated from the 1970’s. It was a community based service operated by paid and volunteer women which provided assistance for women only. The Rape Crisis Centre did not provide medical services, but referred people to appropriate medical support. They provided information, support, counselling, and advocacy as well as undertaking research and campaigning for the rights of women who had been sexually assaulted.

In 1993, the funds from both services were amalgamated and Yarrow Place was established. Yarrow Place works with and for victims of both sexes who were over the age of sixteen at the time of the assault.

In 1995, a twenty-four hour Crisis Response Service was introduced to respond to victims/survivors of recent rape. Two workers - a doctor and a Crisis Response Worker - work together to support each client. This provides better support to the victim and improves the quality of forensic services.

In 1997, Yarrow Place adopted a new Strategic Plan outlining its four key roles in service delivery, training and support to workers, prevention, and leadership. More information about those services is provided below.

Staffing

We have:

• a Director who is responsible for managing the service and for providing leadership in service development, policy, and prevention across the State;
• Medical Officers (doctors) who provide medical care, including collecting forensic evidence from people who want to pursue legal action. Yarrow Place doctors also provide specialised training and support to other doctors and health workers;
• Social Workers who provide counselling, training, group work and crisis response services during the day, and who provide specialised training and support to other counsellors and support workers;
• an after hours panel of Medical Officers and Crisis Response Workers who provide medical and crisis response services after hours, for recent assaults;
• Project Officers who work on specific projects;
• Administrative Officers who provide clerical support for all the staff.

All staff at Yarrow Place are trained to provide a sensitive and comprehensive response to rape and sexual assault.

Funding

Yarrow Place is a government funded health service attached to the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service. Some project funds are also received from other Departments and non-government sources.

Vision

Yarrow Place works towards a long-term vision, which is described in our Strategic Plan July 2003-June 2006 as:
South Australia will have a co-ordinated and comprehensive response to adult rape and sexual assault and will work towards a society free of sexual violence.

Mission Statement

The same Strategic Plan also describes how we work towards that vision and the goals that we are working towards. (Goals are more specific than the vision.)
Yarrow Place works to prevent adult rape and sexual assault in South Australia and to assist those affected to address the effects of rape and sexual assault.

We seek to achieve our mission through:

• a significant reduction in the impacts of adult rape and sexual assault;
• a reduction in the negative impacts that systems (e.g. the health system, the legal system) may have on people who have been raped or sexually assaulted;
• improved access to, and quality of, services and support for adults who have been raped or sexually assaulted;
• increased community awareness of rape and sexual assault and increased community support for people who have been raped or sexually assaulted;
• the challenging of attitudes and beliefs that support sexual violence;
• collaboration with a range of services and the community;
• the prevention of adult rape and sexual assault.

Key Understandings

These goals, and the ways in which we work, are based on the following beliefs:

1. Rape and sexual assault are crimes and violate basic human rights.
2. Rape and sexual assault cross a continuum of violent behaviours including sexual harassment, unwanted touching, coerced sexual activity, and rape with physical violence and/or threat to life.
3. Rape and sexual assault are predominantly perpetrated by men against women and children. Men are also victims of rape and sexual assault, usually perpetrated by men.
4. Rape and sexual assault are both consequences of, and reinforcers of, the power disparities in society, particularly those between men and women, and between adults and children.
5. There are never any excuses for sexual violence.
6. Rape and sexual assault have social, emotional, health, legal, economic and political consequences for the individual and the society
7. Recovery following sexual assault is possible.
8. People who have been raped or sexually assaulted have the right to quality care.
9. The violation of rights that victims have experienced demands a response that affirms their rights, dignity, humanity, and self-determination.
10. To achieve the best outcomes for victims, and to reduce the incidence of rape and sexual assault, it is necessary to work across the health and human services systems, the criminal justice system, the education system (which can contribute to prevention) and other relevant areas.

Services

Services provided by Yarrow Place in the Adelaide metropolitan area include:

• a crisis response service for recent rape or sexual assault. This can include medical services, crisis counselling, advocacy (standing up for what the person wants to have happen), and making sure that the person is safe;
• medical care for victims of rape and sexual assault. This can include treatment for minor injuries, health checks for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and treatment for anxiety, sleeplessness, or other issues arising from the assault;
• forensic medical examinations for people who are considering, or want to take legal action. This means collecting evidence from the body of the person who has been sexually assaulted.
• counselling for people who have been sexually assaulted, either recently or in the past, so long as they were 16 years or older at the time of the assault;
• court preparation and support for people whose cases are going to court;
• information, support and short-term counselling for families and friends of people who have been sexually assaulted, so that they can work through their own issues and provide better support to the person who was assaulted;
• group work and seminar programs.

Yarrow Place services available across South Australia include:

• training programs for workers such as police, lawyers, doctors, nurses, social workers, youth workers and other health workers, and for tertiary students training to work in those areas;
• consultancy and support for other workers. In emergency cases, telephone advice can be provided 24 hours a day;

As well as these services, Yarrow Place undertakes projects in particular areas. Over the past years, these have included:

• projects to improve the quality of services in country areas;
• prevention projects;
• research projects;
• a project to develop accredited training for workers.