Sexual Violence Information and Support

Sexual violence is an umbrella term that includes any sexual behaviours or sexual acts that are committed without all parties’ consent. 

Such acts include sexualised touching, sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape, sexual harassment and intimidation, and forced or coerced watching or engaging in pornography. 

Sexual violence can also be non-physical and include unwanted sexualised comments, intrusive sexualised questions or harassment of a sexual nature. 

Sexual violence can also happen online through technology-based abuse. This can include stalking, monitoring, or harassing someone using digital tools, sending unwanted sexual messages or images, or sharing or threatening to share intimate images without consent.

Consent is a free, voluntary and informed agreement between all parties involved to participate in a sexual act. This agreement is only present when these people mutually and genuinely feel they want to engage in that sexual act and actively check the other person/s does too. 

This means there is only consent to a sexual activity if everyone:

• agrees to take part
• genuinely wants to take part – they don’t feel they have to
• checks in with each other that everyone wants to take part
• shows or says they want to take part in a clear and open way

Consent cannot be given if a person is unconscious, asleep, incapacitated, under the influence of alcohol or drugs or under the legal age of consent. 

Consent can be withdrawn by any party at any point, and past consent does not mean or guarantee future consent. 

If digital technology is used to harm or abuse someone, this is called ‘technology-facilitated abuse’ or ‘tech-based abuse’. 

Tech-based abuse is a growing issue with 99.3% of Australian family, domestic and sexual violence practitioners having clients who experienced technology-facilitated family and domestic violence.

Every person’s experience of tech-based domestic, family and sexual violence is unique, but examples of this might include someone:

• harassing or threatening you online or with a digital device
• sharing or threatening to share an intimate image or video of you online without your consent, also known as image-based abuse or ‘revenge porn’
• cyberstalking
• controlling your online communication  
• restricting or controlling your access to devices and online accounts
• financially abusing you using technology

Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse is a free online tool used to prevent your image or video from being shared on certain platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and OnlyFans. 

You can report any incident of tech-based abuse or online harm to the eSafety Commissioner here.

It is your choice whether you choose to report an incident of sexual violence. It is your choice what course of action is taken and who is involved in this process. We will respect your decision every step of the way, even if you change your mind. 

You can choose to report your experience of sexual violence to the Police, to a support service, or to CDU. 

To report sexual violence to Police, in the case of an emergency call 000. 

If it is not an emergency, you can contact Northern Territory Police on 131 444 or contact your local Police station. 

Staff and students can make a report of sexual violence to CDU at any time using the Sexual Violence Reporting Tool. You may wish to make a report about something that happened to you or to someone you are supporting, or about something you witnessed. 

Even if you choose not to make a report to Police, you can still make a report to CDU. 

If you are a student at CDU, making a sexual violence report will not affect your visa or academic record. If you are a staff member of CDU, making a report will not affect your employment. 

You can choose to make an identified disclosure report or an anonymous disclosure report. 

Please be aware that while making an anonymous disclosure report may limit the University's ability to fully respond to the incident and provide tailored support, your choice will be respected, and we're here to help in whatever way we can. 

When making a report you can also choose if you would like to be contacted via phone, email or zoom. If you wish to speak to a staff member in person, this can also be arranged.

Please note that everyone within the Northern Territory, including all CDU staff members, are obliged to comply with Northern Territory Domestic and Family Violence mandatory reporting requirements. More information regarding this can be found under the title “Your report and information sharing”.

If you require advice or assistance, please email safercommunities@cdu.edu.au.

If you have completed the CDU sexual violence reporting tool and provided consent to be contacted, you will be contacted by the Safer Communities Specialist Counsellor or another trained staff member within 2 business days using your preferred contact method. 

This staff member will explain what options are available to you, what support they can offer, and what next steps might look like. 

This support may include:

• Checking on your safety and assisting you to develop a safety plan
• Implementing protective measures
• Supporting you to make a report to Police if you wish to do so
• Referring you to relevant support services both internal and external to CDU

If you do not wish to make a report to Police or CDU, you can still access support through CDU Counselling and/or Access & Inclusion.

CDU Counselling support students to grow or maintain their well-being. To request an appointment with a CDU Counsellor, please complete the CDU Counselling booking request form here.

Access & Inclusion provide support for students to remain engaged with study during periods of, or following experiences of, domestic and family violence. For more information about this service or to book an appointment click here.

If you have completed the CDU sexual violence reporting tool and provided consent to be contacted, you will be contacted by a Senior People & Culture representative within 2 business days using your preferred contact method. 

This staff member will explain what options are available to you, what support they can offer, and what next steps might look like. 

This support may include:

• Checking on your safety and assisting you to develop a safety plan
• Implementing protective measures
• Supporting you to make a report to Police if you wish to do so
• Referring you to relevant support services both internal and external to CDU

If you do not wish to make a report to Police or CDU, you can still access support. This includes through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) using the following contacts:

• If you are based in the Northern Territory, you can access support through EASA by calling 1800 193 123
• If you are based within Alice Springs, you can access support through Solace Consulting by calling 1800 931 265
• All employees can access support through Converge by calling 1300 687 327

Your personal information and disclosure are kept private and confidential. 

This information is stored in a safe and secure location and will not be shared with any people not directly involved in responding to your disclosure without your consent. 

There are some circumstances where we may need to share your information. 

Times where CDU may need to share information include:

• When it is assessed that you, or a person in the community, is in immediate danger
• When a person under the age of 18 is involved
• Where the state or federal law requires this under mandatory reporting obligations. This may be related to Domestic Family Violence or Child Protection reporting legislation

If we do need to share your information, we will always aim to discuss this with you first to keep you updated and informed. 

Please be aware that in the Northern Territory, if you think a person could be seriously physically hurt by someone with whom they are in a domestic or family relationship, you must report your concerns to Police. 

Mandatory reporting is done to protect your safety, which is our top priority. It's not about blame, but about ensuring you get the support and protection you need.

Making a report not only helps connect you to support services, but also ensures there is a record in place if you decide to explore reporting options later on.

If an allegation has been made against you regarding sexual violence, CDU can assist you to access support.

You will be treated fairly, heard without judgement or blame, and informed of support options available to you.

You will be offered support by an alternative staff member who is not supporting other parties involved. 

For more information, please contact safercommunities@cdu.edu.au.

If someone discloses an incident of sexual violence to you, it means they have likely identified you as someone they feel safe with. 

For people that have experienced sexual violence, the right support can make all the difference. 

It is common to feel unsure about the best thing to say and do, but some of the ways you can support them include:

• Taking the time to listen to their story
• Making sure they have the privacy to be able to tell their story
• Believing them, make them feel safe and assure them that it was not their fault
• Not asking too many questions about what has happened — this can be intrusive and re-traumatising
• Not arguing with them or pushing them to leave their situation or take action
• Respecting their right to have control over what they say and the actions they want to take
• Asking them about what support they have and encourage them to seek further support.

It is important to remember that providing this support to another person can also have an impact on your own wellbeing. 

It is important to take time to consider what support you need and prioritise your own well-being throughout this time. You are also eligible to access sexual violence support services, and you can find more information regarding these below.

Regardless of whether you choose to report sexual violence to the Police or CDU, support is always available. 

Sexual Violence support services are located Australia-wide.

To locate your closest support service provider, you can access the National Association or Services Against Sexual Violence Support Directory. Alternatively, you can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800737 732 or access their service directory here. 

For support in the Northern Territory, you can contact the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC). SARC provides the following free and confidential support: 

• Counselling for adults and children
• Medical assistance
• Information and support
• Support if you are going through a legal process

You can call SARC Darwin and Alice Springs 24 hours a day to get help for recent incidents of sexual violence by phoning:

• Darwin: (08) 8922 6472
• Katherine: (08) 8793 8524
• Tennant Creek: 08 8962 4361
• Alice Springs (08) 8955 4500

Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Sexual Violence also provides free, confidential counselling and support to women and children who have experienced sexual assault at any time in their lives. They can be contacted on:

Darwin: (08) 8945 0155

1800RESPECT
24-hour national domestic, family and sexual violence hotline
Ph: 1800 737 732
Text: 0458 737 732

Lifeline
24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention
Ph: 13 11 14

Beyond Blue
24-hour mental health and counselling support service
Ph: 1300 224 636

Headspace
National youth mental health foundation for ages 12 - 25 providing counselling, online and phone support 
Ph: 1800 650890 (9:00am – 1:00am AEDT)

Kid's Helpline
Free phone counselling service available 24-hour for those aged between 5 - 25 years of age.
Ph: 1800 55 1800

Suicide Call Back Service
Free nationwide service providing 24-hour phone and online counselling to people affected by suicide
Ph: 1300 659 467

CDU Counselling
Free and confidential well-being support for CDU students 
Email: counselling@cdu.edu.au             

CDU Wellbeing Support Line 
Free and confidential 24-hour well-being line available to CDU students
Ph: 1300 933 393
Text: 0488 884 144

13YARN
24-hour crisis support line for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Ph: 13 92 76

QLife
Free and anonymous helpline for LGBTIQ+ people and their loved ones
Available 3:00pm – midnight via phone or webchat
Ph: 1800 184 527