Sexual assault victims are enduring long, traumatic journeys to Adelaide for forensic examinations because of a lack of regional services, the South Australian Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence has been told.
The issue had come up “every time” during the commission’s visits to regional areas, Commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja told the inquiry’s second day of public hearings on Thursday, and she had found the stories of victims “really concerning”.
But most regional victims had little choice but to travel to Adelaide for a forensic examination, according to Katrina Dee, the Director of Heath and Recovery Trauma Safety Services, at the SA Women's and Children’s Health Network.
She told the inquiry that some victims chose to travel with family or friends “because they need that support - it's a really traumatic experience”, but transport often involved being accompanied by two police officers.
“It's not a pleasant experience for the victim-survivor to be transported, even though police are very kind and supportive,” she said.
“I'm aware of circumstances, even in the last 12 months, where … one victim survivor came by bus for a very long trip.”
The need to preserve forensic evidence meant they were unable to wash or change clothing before travel “so the impact on the victim-survivor is really significant around leaving that traumatic content on their bodies”, she said.
Adelaide’s Yarrow Place Rape and Sexual Assault Service co-ordinates forensic medical examinations, providing 24/7 crisis support and medical assessments for victims of sexual violence.
Between January 2023 and July 2024, Yarrow Place conducted 350 forensic procedures, including 75 from regional areas.
Ms Dee said that the Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner had made directives in 2009, after a victim-survivor who presented at a regional hospital in 2007 was unable to have a forensic examination that resulted in the matter not being prosecuted.
A "hub and spoke” model was introduced for regional hospitals, with the aim of the largest hospitals having staff qualified to conduct forensic examinations.
But Ms Dee said that by 2022, she had become concerned that “we had moved a little bit backwards” towards sexual assault not being recognised as a regional health issue.
“While I can confidently say that Yarrow Place did offer training, I would say the uptake wasn't what we would have hoped it to be - the number of victim survivors travelling to Adelaide has not decreased,” she said.
Counsel assisting, Katie-Jane Orr, said the commission had been told the number of nurses and GPs in regional areas trained by Yarrow Place since 2019 was 13.
Ms Dee was concerned that victim survivors would be “silenced” when they heard that the system wasn’t working effectively.
“So my message to any victim survivors is … you have the right to a healthcare response, and we want you to come forward,” she said.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
