01/10/2026
TRIGGER WARNING!!
(S**ual A**ault)
Please look after yourself as you read, or feel free to scroll past.
The recent news about the alleged assault of a young woman at Cornell University in the US has stirred up a lot of emotions for many people. You might be feeling angry, numb, shame, exhausted, a sense of hopelessness, or all of these at once. However you're feeling right now is valid, and you don't have to make sense of it alone.
I want to speak gently, but honestly, about statistics in Australia.
In Australia:
• More than 1 in 5 women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
In South Australia:
• Last year (2025), 2027 people reported a sexual assault to SA Police
• 85% of those reported in SA were women and girls.
• Most survivors never report at all. Of those who do, very few see a conviction.
For women with disability:
• Young women with disability face twice the lifetime risk.
• Around 9 in 10 women with disability who were sexually assaulted by a man did not report it to police.
If this is your story, healing doesn't follow a timeline. Support is here whenever you're ready:
• 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 (24/7)
• Yarrow Place (SA): 1800 817 421 (24/7, ages 16+)
• Police: 000 in an emergency, or 131 444
• Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline: 1800 880 052
• NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission: 1800 035 544 (Mon–Fri, business hours). For concerns about the safety or quality of NDIS supports, including harm by a worker or provider.
There is also a Self-Care Box, created by TaskBands, which was designed to bring comfort to people living with the effects of trauma, and to give those who love and support them a gentle way to help. Please reach out if you'd like more information.
www.taskbands.com.au/product/self-care-box
Our inbox is always open too.
With care, and understanding,
Tracy and the Disability Destinations / TaskBands team
________________________________________
Sources:
• ABS – Recorded Crime: Victims, 2025
• No to Violence – Submission on SA sexual assault and consent laws (2024)
• SA Government – Review of consent laws
• ABS – Personal Safety, Australia 2021-22
