Support & Healing
“There will never be a time when I am not recovering.”
– Chelsea Williams
Finding support
Whether you need crisis support, legal advice or specialised assistance, these services and resources can help you navigate the path forward
Support Services
- National Sexual Assault Service Directory
- 1800RESPECT Service Directory
- Full Stop Australia
- SAMSN
- Bravehearts
- QLife
- Blue Knot Foundation
- Mission Australia Court Support Service
- Zahra Foundation
- eSafety Commissioner (for intimate image-based abuse)
- Umi Chatbot (for intimate image-based abuse)
- Victims and Witnesses of Crime Court Support (NSW)
- InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence (VIC)
- Immigration Advice and Rights Centre (NSW, with limited ability to assist victims outside of NSW, and links to immigration-specific supports in other jurisdictions)
- Sunny app, Women With Disability Australia
- Good Shepherd Financial Independence Hub
- Sex Workers Outreach Project
- Transforming Justice Australia
Legal Services
- Violet Co Legal & Consulting
- Donaldson Law
- knowmore
- Women’s Legal Services Australia
- Legal Aid
- National Family Violence and Prevention Legal Services (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations delivering legal and non-legal support)
- Sex work laws in Australia
Government Victim Support Schemes
Other
- Insight Exchange
- Safe and Equal
- NSW Education Centre Against Violence (downloadable booklets)
- A Guide to Supporting Victims of Crime Through Court, Court Network (QLD)
- Court Network (QLD and VIC)
- The Compassionate Mind Foundation
- Rhythm of Regulation
- Yoga with Adriene (for PTSD and suffering)
- Heart Rate Variability Training, Macquarie Institute
- Supporting Survivors, The Survivors Trust
- Say It Out Loud, ACON’s DFSV website
- TransHub
- Scarlet Alliance: Australian Sex Workers Association
- Neve, Women With Disability Australia
- Survivor Sanctuary
- Women’s Resilience Centre
Healing material
These books, podcasts, and films have been identified by victim-survivors and their supporters, who understand the complexity of the sexual violence journey and the many paths toward recovery.
Books
- Know My Name, Chanel Miller
- I Choose Elena, Lucia Osborne-Crowley
- Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman
- The Body Remembers, Babette Rothschild
- See What You Made Me Do, Jess Hill
- Witness, Louise Milligan
- Eggshell Skull, Bri Lee
- The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk
- Not That Bad, Roxane Gay
- My Body Keeps Your Secrets, Lucia Osborne-Crowley
- The Mother Wound, Amani Haydar
- Victims No Longer, Mike Lew
- Dear Sister: Letters From Survivors of Sexual Violence, edited by Lisa Factora-Borchers
- Love, Bruises and Bullsh!t, compiled by Sheree Schonian and Yasmin Walter
- Tomorrow Sex Will Be Good Again, Katherine Angel
- On Violence and On Violence Against Women, Jacqueline Rose
- The Way We Survive: Notes on Rape Culture, Catriona Morton
- Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was a Girl, Jeannie Vanasco
- Surviving the Legal System, Caroline Taylor
- Restoring Hope and Trust: An Illustrated Guide to Mastering Trauma, Kay Kelly, Lisa Lewis and Jon G. Allen
- How Many More Women?, Jennifer Robinson and Keina Yoshida
- System Failure: The Silencing of Rape Survivors, Michael Bradley
- She Said, Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
- Legitimate Sexpectations: The Power of Sex-Ed, Katrina Marson
- Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men, Lundy Bancroft
- The Verbally Abusive Relationship, Patricia Evans
- Believe Me, Andrea Powell
Podcasts
- The Trap, Jess Hill
- Reclaim Me, Madi Heather
- Ladies, We Need to Talk, Yumi Stynes
- Everybody Knows, Ruby Jones
- The Radical Therapist, Chris Hoff
- The Brigid Project Podcast, Anni and Bron
- Tender, Madison Griffiths and Beth Atkinson-Quinton
- No Laughing Matter, Tanya Lee
- Sex and Consent, Dr Mardi Wilson and Lizzy Keen
- What They Don’t Say, Lauren and Shannon
Movies & Television
- Unbelievable
- Adolescence
- I May Destroy You
- Until I Kill You
- After The Party
- One Night
- The Morning Show
- Victim/Suspect
- The Hunting Ground
- Geeta
- Promising Young Woman
- Bombshell
- She Said
- Maid
- Three Girls
- Baby Reindeer
