The level of financial support the state government provides to sexual assault support services "falls well short of what is required", Labor's spokesperson for women Michelle O'Byrne says.
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The government announced on Thursday that it was providing Laurel House and the Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS) with $250,000 each for 12 months to support their specialist recovery-based services.
Ms O'Byrne said any funding for services like Laurel House and SASS was welcome but that the government should be providing more than it was currently.
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"Clearly what the Liberal government has allocated falls well short of what is required," she said.
"Minister for Women Jane Howlett and Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Jacquie Petrusma should be lobbying the Premier and Treasurer [Peter Gutwein] for increased funding for future years not merely accepting what amounts to a significant shortfall.
"Until backlogs for services are cleared, the government is continuing to fail survivors at a critical time."
While Laurel House chief executive Kathryn Fordyce also welcomed the funding boost, she, too, said a longer-term funding agreement was needed.
"We expect demand to continue to increase and we expect we'll need more funding," Ms Fordyce has said.
The funding comes as Australian of the Year Grace Tame, a sexual assault survivor, continues to shine a light on the prevalence of sexual assault in the community. Former political staffer Brittany Higgins has also led the conversation, after alleging she was raped in Parliament House.
As the issue has gained increased public prominence, more and more people are seeking out the sexual assault support services offered by organisations like Laurel House and SASS.
Laurel House counsellors in the state's North and North-West currently see four clients a day, while SASS has experienced a 74 per cent increase in referrals for its counselling services over the past five years.
Last financial year, SASS saw 1033 clients. So far this year, it has already surpassed that number.
Prevention of Family Violence Minister Jacquie Petrusma has said the additional funding will help Laurel House and SASS to meet demand and would be used to employ additional counsellors "to support more Tasmanians across the state".
Mrs Petrusma will this year lead the development of the state's third family and sexual violence action plan, consulting with Tasmanians with lived experience of such abuse.
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