2022 Annual Report – Our year of impact

As the year comes to a close, we are proud to share The Sexual Assault & Family Violence Centre’s annual report – 2022 Year of Impact.

This year, in our report, our focus has been on balance. Balancing the re-emergence of our community from lockdowns and the immediate risk of the pandemic, while ensuring the health and wellbeing of our clients, our staff and our community, this has been at the forefront of our organisation.

We know the challenges that the pandemic presented last year in particular to our clients and those in our community who have been impacted by sexual and family violence. Across the country, we saw that many victim-survivors who have been impacted by sexual violence delayed seeking support, which is reflected in the reduced number of our clients supported for this issue this past year, while the number of women and children seeking support for family violence has remained high, showing the impact of family violence in our community.

As we reflect on the past year, the experience has shown us the true meanings of resilience and adaptability. Our deep appreciation to our clients, staff, partners and our communities who have trusted us throughout this past year.

With the prevalence of sexual and family violence in our community, we remain steadfast to our vision of a
community free from sexual assault and family violence and a society underpinned by the principles of gender equality, social justice and human rights. Our primary prevention work this year has been focused on education and amplifying the drivers of violence to create awareness and strong understanding within the community of the importance of gender equality. We are proud to collaborate with a number of organisations and local community groups to deliver initiatives that have a strong prevention focus.

A significant milestone this year has been the completion of our Women and Children Refuge for those impacted by family violence. This build saw six independent units built and furnished to ensure women and children across the state who are seeking refuge due to a high risk of family violence have a welcoming, safe and secure space to start their journey to recovery. This project was a whole organisation-wide program of work and the finished result speaks of the effort and dedication of our team.

Our sincere thanks to our partners who continue to support our organisation and work together to deliver support to those impacted by sexual and family violence in our community. It is the connection that we have with you that will help us achieve our vision.

The next 12 months are already showing exciting opportunities for growth and balance for our organisation. We are looking forward to the future of The SAFV Centre, growing our partnership with Emma House and holding a key focus on supporting our clients, staff, partners and our community.

We encourage you to join us as we reflect on our year and celebrate the achievements of our staff and organisation in our 2022 Year of Impact report.