Laurel House to set up Youth Advisory Council on sexual violence

Inspired by the examples of Grace Tame, Brittany Higgins and Chanel Contos, the council will use the lived experiences of young people who've experienced sexual violence to advocate for policy and community change.

The Council will be made up of young people aged 13 to 18 who are victim-survivors of of sexual violence and abuse from the North and North West of Tasmania.

Their experiences will inform Laurel House's advocacy and campaigns across government and the wider sector.

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Tess Moodie, Youth Engagement Lead for the project said that children have "unique experiences of sexual violence."

Children and young people can make "a valuable contribution" and ensure "that services are really listening to how they need to be supported," Ms Moodie said.

"Their ability to bring systemic change cannot be underestimated," she said.

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The results of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study released in April 2023 showed that 25.7 per cent of respondents aged 16 to 24 had experienced child sexual abuse.

The study surveyed a nationally representative sample of 8500 participants from which 3500 were aged 16 to 24.

The results for the 16-24 age group found that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys experienced child sexual abuse.

Laurel House CEO, Kathryn Fordyce said the initial focus of the council would be on building the capacity of its members to share their stories as a way of advocating for change.

Participants will receive training and be introduced to other victim-survivors of sexual violence.

They will learn how to advocate whilst also taking care of themselves, Ms Fordyce said.

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As the members are from a very young age group, they will not be making their identities public. Additionally, what is shared among the group will remain confidential, Ms Fordyce said.

However as adults participants may decide to be more public with their experiences, she said.

"But we want to really be conscious that while both children and young people are involved in our council that they're not doing anything too soon that's too public."

"It's a really fine line there between wanting to keep the anonymity of the people involved, but also recognizing that those young people have done nothing wrong," she said.

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The program has currently closed its application process and hopes to hold its first meeting to coincide with Youth Week 2023.

"Each applicant will be assessed for their readiness to engage, and they will be trained and supported every step of the way to ensure they feel safe and well equipped to impact change in Tasmania for other children and young people," Ms Moodie said.

A previous Royal Commission into child sexual abuse found that it takes 23 years for people to disclose child sexual abuse, Ms Fordyce said.

Those who will be entering the Youth Advisory Council will be "bucking the trend" in disclosing their experiences, she said.

"They've already overcome a hurdle to be able to tell somebody what's happening them which is a really tricky thing to and it's a really brave thing to do."

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