Sexual offences and child abuse support and resources

A range of different services and support information are available for victims of sexual offences (or sex crimes) and child abuse.

Anyone can access them without needing to contact police.

Support and resources for sexual offences and child abuse

Services and resources for victims and survivors can include:

counselling and support
information and further resources
support during the investigation process
medical help and treatment
emergency housing
assistance from the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal
and information and counselling for friends and family members.

Support services available to you

There are a range of different services and support information available.

Anyone can access them without needing to contact police.

Phone: 1800 737 732 | 24 hours
Live chat support: 1800RESPECT Online Chat
1800RESPECT is the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
They provide support for:
- people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, family violence or sexual assault
- their friends and family
- and professionals.
You can contact them through the National Relay Service and the Translating and Interpreting Service. They also have incorporated web tools for people with disability.
Phone: 03 9345 6391 | 9am - 5pm
Gatehouse Centre for Child Sexual Assault supports children, young people (aged between 0–17), and their families in north west Melbourne.
This assessment, treatment and advocacy service covers:
- the cities of Brimbank and Melton
- Western Melbourne including the cities of:
  - Moonee Valley
  - Maribyrnong
  - Melbourne
  - Hobsons Bay
  - Wyndham
- inpatients at The Royal Children’s Hospital
Gatehouse Centre is a department of the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Phone: 1800 755 988 | 9.30am – 4.30pm, Monday to Friday
InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence is a specialist family violence service that works with:
- women from migrant and refugee backgrounds
- their families
- and their communities in Victoria.
They run community-based projects to address issues of family violence, as well as:
- provide case management to women
- provide training
- conduct research.
Phone: 1800 015 188 | 24 hours
Live chat support: Family Violence live web chat 9am - midnight | Monday to Friday
Safe Steps is Victoria’s 24/7 family violence response centre.
They provide specialist support services for Victorians experiencing or afraid of family violence.
Services include:
- information and referral
- crisis response
- specialist family violence risk assessment
- safety planning
- access to supported crisis accommodation.
Phone: 1800 737 377 | 8am - 5pm, Monday to Friday
The National Redress Scheme was created in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
It helps people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse by:
- acknowledging that many children were sexually abused in Australian institutions
- providing support and access to counselling and psychological services
- recognising the harm endured because of this abuse
- offering access to a direct personal response and a redress payment.
The National Redress Scheme also holds institutions accountable for this abuse.

Sexual assault resources

If you have just been sexually assaulted:

go somewhere you feel safe, call Triple Zero 000 and ask for police
if possible, do not disturb the area where the assault happened
if possible, do not shower or bathe (this may destroy evidence that can be used in court)
if possible, try to refrain from eating or drinking anything
do not wash or discard the clothes you wore during the assault

If you are concerned about something that has happened to you at any point in time, we encourage you to speak with police. You need not worry about your actions or choices – you will be taken seriously. Our investigators are trained to understand these complex situations and are here to help you.

How to report sexual offences

For more information on reporting sexual offences or child abuse, visit our Reporting Sexual Offences and Child Abuse page.

Reporting sexual offences booklet

The Reporting sexual offences booklet is available for download in different formats, including:

Reporting sexual offences PDF 190.91 KB (general)
Reporting sexual offences in Easy English PDF 5.03 MB (in Easy English which is simple text with images, tagged for computerised readers)
in Languages other than English (LOTE; 13 languages)

- Arabic PDF 237.95 KB
- Bosnian PDF 136.65 KB
- Cantonese PDF 360.97 KB
- Croatian PDF 141.13 KB
- Dari PDF 234.68 KB
- Greek PDF 163.1 KB
- Hindi PDF 288.29 KB
- Indonesian PDF 170.63 KB
- Malay PDF 173.55 KB
- Mandarin PDF 318.38 KB
- Persian PDF 247 KB
- Polish PDF 160.72 KB
- Punjabi PDF 183.83 KB
- Russian PDF 162.75 KB
- Serbian PDF 150.2 KB
- Somali PDF 183.93 KB
- Spanish PDF 181.49 KB
- Turkish PDF 295.03 KB
- Vietnamese PDF 143.45 KB

eSafety Commissioner

The eSafety Commissioner provides information on:

technology-facilitated abuse
image-based abuse
illegal and restricted online content use
cyberbullying
and online safety.

Learn more about reporting online harm to the eSafety Commissioner.

Sexting resources

Youth Law Australia’s Sexting (yla.org.au)
Victorian Government’s Sexting page.

Unspeakable podcast – understanding sexual crime

Unspeakable is a six-episode podcast available on Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud.

It challenges preconceived ideas of sexual offending through interviews with:

victims
their loved ones
specialists
and the Victoria Police detectives who managed their investigations.

Each episode explores a key theme:

Reporting
Investigating
Victim reactions
Grooming
Online grooming
Future directions.

Crime

Updated 29 May 2024