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Trauma-Informed Sexual Violence Response Training Across the Health System

Proposal Summary

Mandatory co-designed sexual violence response training for GPs, allied health and staff every 3 years via CPD to ensure consistent, trauma-informed care for victim survivors across the system

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Proposal We would like to propose the introduction of mandatory, co-designed and co-delivered sexual-violence response training for GPs, allied health professionals, and associated staff, to be completed as part of their CPD every three years. This will ensure health services consistently provide safe, trauma-sensitive care to victim survivors. Across our health system, victim survivors continue to describe encounters that reopen old wounds rather than support healing. A routine check-up, allied health appointment, or even a simple administrative process can become a site of distress when staff are unprepared to recognise trauma or respond safely. Many survivors withdraw from essential healthcare as a result. This can lead to untreated injuries, unmanaged chronic illness, and long-term health deterioration that could have been prevented.

However, when care is delivered with understanding and predictability, survivors feel more comfortable to seek help, disclose what they need to, and engage in ongoing treatment. Something as small as a practitioner explaining why a garment needs to be removed, or what a procedure will feel like, becomes a lantern in an experience that might otherwise feel uncertain or overwhelming. Informed consent, when expanded beyond legal formality and into active, compassionate communication, can transform the entire encounter.

Co-designed training sits at the centre of this change. When survivors and practitioners build learning together, the content reflects real experiences, practical strategies, and cultural nuance. It also models the very principles we want clinicians to use; respect, collaboration, transparency, and shared understanding. Regular delivery—every three years—ensures that knowledge doesn’t stagnate but evolves alongside evidence, community expectations, and the lived realities of those most affected.

Most importantly, this proposal recognises that sexual-violence responses should not depend on luck: the luck of which GP you see, which practice you attend, or which staff member happens to be rostered on. Mandatory, trauma-informed training creates a baseline of safety across the entire system. It signals to victim survivors that their wellbeing is not an afterthought but a core responsibility of healthcare. In doing so, it strengthens trust, encourages engagement, and ultimately leads to better health outcomes.