Your voice makes a big difference.
Please contribute to the development of Tasmania’s third Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan, to end family and sexual violence in our State
“I invite you to be part of the conversation on how we can work together to end family and sexual violence in our community. What you tell us will help shape further actions to prevent and respond to family and sexual violence and ensure we are meeting the needs of victim-survivors.
The voice of victim-survivors is at the centre of how we are consulting and collaborating to develop a new Tasmanian Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan. We know that family and sexual violence has impacts across our whole community - whether you are a victim-survivor yourself, provide services to victim-survivors, are a family member, a friend, or a concerned community member. Your voice matters, and we want to hear from you.
The Tasmanian Government launched its first Action Plan to prevent and respond to family violence in 2015. Since then, we have worked across our community to stop family and sexual violence before it starts, to grow our service system to meet the needs of victim-survivors and to hold perpetrators to account.
But we know there is much more work to be done. Please join the conversation, by providing your insight, thoughts and views on the best way to achieve a Tasmania free from violence.”
Hon Jacquie Petrusma MP, Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence
Hearing from you
The Tasmanian Government is seeking feedback from individuals, organisations, policy makers and community groups on actions to:
- Prevent family and sexual violence – stopping it before it starts;
- Meet the needs of victim-survivors of family and sexual violence; and
- Hold perpetrators to account.
We are also seeking specific feedback on our current Action Plan, Survivors at the Centre: Tasmania's Third Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan 2022-2027. We want to know your thoughts on what has worked well, what we can do differently, and what needs to improve. View the current Action Plan.
Your thoughts and ideas will help inform development and implementation of Tasmania’s next Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan due for release in 2027.
Family Violence
In Tasmania, family violence refers to violent, threatening, and/or controlling behaviour by a person against their spouse, partner or ex-partner.
Family violence includes a range of physical and non-physical behaviours.
Non-physical abuse includes:
- Emotional or psychological abuse (including threats, coercive control, isolating you from family and friends and/or intimidation)
- Economic (also called financial abuse)
- Property damage
- Abduction or stalking
- Any attempt to do any of those things
- Breaching any existing family violence orders
For more information visit www.safefromviolence.tas.gov.au
Sexual Violence
Sexual violence is behaviour of a sexual nature directed toward a person that makes them feel uncomfortable, distressed or threatened and to which they have not consented.
Sexual violence includes a wide range of unwanted, non-consensual, traumatic and harmful sexual behaviours, including:
- Sexual harassment
- Unwanted sexual acts, including kissing or sexual touching
- Technology-facilitated abuse (also called image-based abuse) such as sharing intimate photos without your consent
- Coercion (being forced to do something)
- Sexual assault including rape
- Child sexual abuse or child exploitation
For more information visit www.safefromviolence.tas.gov.au
Some questions to consider in your feedback
The below questions are provided as guiding prompts only. Please share any information with us that you would like to be considered in the development of the next Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan. Some questions you may like to consider include:
- Victim-survivors have a right to respect and action - our consultation approach aims to partner with victim-survivors to prevent and respond to family and sexual violence, for example through the Hearing Lived Experience Survey 2022 and establishing Tasmania’s first Victim-Survivor Advisory Council. In what further ways could we engage the expert knowledge of victim-survivors in preventing and responding to family and sexual violence in our community?
- All Tasmanians have a right to be free from family and sexual violence - what do you think would help stop family and sexual violence from happening before it starts?
- Everyone’s experience is different - how and in what ways can we meet the needs of victim-survivors of family and sexual violence? In answering, you may wish to consider victim-survivors with diverse lived experience, including older people, Tasmanian Aboriginal people, people with disability, CALD Tasmanians, people from rural and regional communities, and LGBTIQ+ Tasmanians.
- Children and young people are victim-survivors in their own right – in what ways can we better understand the specific experiences of children and young people in relation to family and sexual violence, and how can we better meet their needs?
- Tasmanians know what works best in their families and communities -
- What actions, initiatives, programs and approaches are currently working well? Why are they working well?
- What needs to be done differently? In what ways?
- What do we need to do more of? Why?
- Your voice and views matter – what else would you like to tell us as we develop our next Action Plan?
The Hearing Lived Experience Survey 2022 closed on 13 February 2023.
Feedback has now closed for Tasmania's Third Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan 2022-2027: Survivors at the Centre. Feedback opened on 1 April 2022 and closed on 10 February 2023.
However, as this Action Plan will be a living plan, feedback submitted after May 2022 will be considered during the implementation of the Action Plan.
You can let us know your thoughts and ideas by emailing us at: fsvap@communities.tas.gov.au
What we will do with your feedback
Please let us know in your feedback if you would prefer us not to publish your submission. Unless otherwise indicated, submissions will be treated as public information and will be published on our website at www.safefromviolence.tas.gov.au
No personal information other than an individual’s name or the organisation making a submission will be published. Your information will be managed in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act 2004.
By publishing submissions, the Tasmanian Government expresses no opinion as to the content or accuracy of any of the submissions or other materials to which the submissions may refer. The Tasmanian Government may choose not to publish all or part of a submission if it considers it inappropriate to do so.
Public Submissions Received as of 3 May 2023
UTAS - Submission to the Third Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan 2023
Our Watch submission to Tasmanian Government Third Action Plan - Gov Relations
Anonymous 2 - Public Submission
Commissioner for Children and Young People Tas
Discrepancies, issues and observation of the Family Court
Launceston White Ribbon Community
Sexual Assault Support Service
Yemaya Women's Support Service
Our consultation
The voice of victim-survivors is at the centre of our approach to consulting and collaborating with the Tasmanian community to inform our third Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan. Read more about our consultation.
Our consultation includes five key elements:
- Hearing Lived Experience Survey 2022 – a public online anonymous survey of victim-survivors with lived experience of family and sexual violence to inform the third Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan. The survey was open for 1 year and closed on 13 February 2023.
- Victim-Survivor Advisory Council – establishment of a Victim-Survivor Advisory Council to advise the Tasmanian Government on the development and implementation of our third Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan. Further information about establishment of the Council will be available shortly on www.safefromviolence.tas.gov.au.
- Targeted workshops with key stakeholders, including a focus on diverse communities and priority areas for action.
- Partnering with Tasmanian Aboriginal community organisations to develop specific actions and initiatives to achieve a significant and sustained reduction in violence and abuse against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children towards zero.
- Written feedback from the community.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family violence please call the Safe at Home Family Violence Response and Referral Line on 1800 633 937.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual violence please call the Statewide Sexual Assault Support Service on 1800 697 877 (1800 MYSUPPORT).
In an emergency always call 000.
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