To the Honourable Prime Minister and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled:

The petition of the undersigned shows:

What Were You Wearing Australia (WWYW) and your petitioners bring the attention to the Senate that the nation lacks mandatory trauma-informed training for first responders, leaving victim-survivors vulnerable to re-traumatisation and victim blaming in their experience seeking help. In  WWYW's research we have found that there are inconsistencies between education facilities in terms of how much teaching is allocated in regard to focusing on interactions with victims, attitudes creating victim blaming beliefs and the lack of trauma-informed training and understandings of first responders. The effects of victim blaming have significant implications to the survivor, leaving them vulnerable to further traumatisation and prone to developing mental illnesses including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Victims seeking help should not have to fear the risks of retraumatisation based on the lack of training and education.

Victim blaming is any response that implies that victims are responsible for their experience of sexual or domestic violence, often characterised in questions or statements regarding their clothing, relationship status with the perpetrator or if they were under the influence. Victims of domestic and sexual violence will often seek help and support from first responders following the events of these traumatic incidences. There is a prominent number of reports and concerns of these first responders endorsing victim blaming perspectives when communicating with the victim, this can be extremely traumatic for the victims as they feel they are to blame for the actions of someone else. It is essential that first responders are equipped with ‘trauma-informed’ training and education to lower the risk of further harm and traumatisation and provide the adequate care and support victims seek from these professionals. 

There has been a prominent number of reports and concerns of victims of sexual and domestic violence experiencing victim blaming attitudes and re-traumatisation from first responders when seeking help following the events of such violence. In WWYW's research we have found that Australia lacks mandatory trauma-informed training for first responders and fails to address education of the attitudes and actions that endorse victim blaming perspectives that implies that the victim is to blame for their experience of sexual assault or violence.It is understood that such negative experiences from first responders leaves victims vulnerable to re-traumatisation and prone to developing mental illnesses. 

Your petitioners ask the Senate to implement mandatory trauma-informed training for all first responders focusing on interaction with victims and tackling attitudes that create victim blaming beliefs. This would effectively ensure that victims can receive sufficient care and support from first responders and may encourage further reporting rates. 

We urge them to fund our organisation and peak bodies to develop a third party training resource that will be required to attain before becoming a first responder. This must be developed with peak bodies within the DFSV sector, with Aboriginal women at the forefront. This training must be made to be culturally safe and include extensive education on victim blaming training.