Two weeks ago Mr Stuart Grimley MP tabled our petition in Victorian Parliament and today he sent a letter to Minister of Health, The Hon Mr Martin Foley. To ensure Minister Foley is aware of our community petition’s tabling and to formally request that he or a senior member of the Department meet with our advocacy group to discuss the State Government’s plans to progress a ‘No Wrong Door’ approach in Victoria. Click here to view the letter in full, and following are some quotes.

"As you may be aware, on Thursday 9 June 2022 I tabled a community petition1 in the Legislative Council with over 12,500 signatures, supporting childhood sexual abuse survivors and their families.

The Change.org e-petition calls for:

• The State Government to implement the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Report, Recommendation 9.1. This refers to a ‘No Wrong Door’ approach of integrated services, where no survivor is turned away from help, specifically calling for a pilot in Beaumaris and Ballarat; two communities heavily affected by child sexual abuse.
• The Minister for Health to meet with the petition organisers.

The e-petition is addressed to you in your role as Minister for Health and a copy of the final tabled document was sent to your office on 8 June 2022. We have not, however, heard from your office acquitting the request of the e-petition. We would welcome your collaboration with any other relevant Ministers or Departments to progress the reforms sought by this community petition.

You would be aware that following the Royal Commission, NSW implemented their Integrated Prevention and Response to Violence, Abuse and Neglect (IPARAVN) Framework, which implemented the integrated services model outlined in Recommendation 9.1. Its interim report has been published, with incredible results including that two thirds of respondents participating in the new approach agreed or strongly agreed that their system integration had led to improvements in health and wellbeing outcomes. Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party, and many other stakeholders, firmly believe that the ‘No Wrong Door’ approach should be adopted in Victoria as a matter of urgency."

We are so grateful for the support of Mr Stuart Grimley MP, Ms Tania Maxwell MP, and Mr Derryn Hinch, who continue to stand with us, and all Victorian survivors, their families and communities. 

We are 12,803 Petitioners Strong, and we are being heard!

Thank you.