Paper Trail - A poem
Paper Trail
She is nothing,
but she has a point of view.
She is young,
but she rummages through
the tissues in her bra,
she’s no star.
She has no pockets
for ritzy spent dockets;
she is just nothing,
but she has a point of view.
He’s not the right image,
for you, true blue.
You’re tiptoeing around
with only one shoe.
He’s not the right image
for us too.
The female beast
is the one inside you.
Censoring self,
isn’t your due.
There’s blue paint
on the ceiling,
as a short-film mart.
Plastered on the wall
peeling off your heart,
is just the start.
The hostage burns slow
when the light gets too low.
Self-sabotage protects the other,
self-delete inserts another.
Anon.
Support for General Practices to support victim-survivors - Engender Equality Update - September 2025
Supporting general practices and Aboriginal health services in responding to family violence, sexual violence and child sexual abuse through the PCFSV Pilot program.
New program training GPs in responding to domestic and family violence in Tasmania
By Meg Whitfield
Posted to ABC News, 07/09/25 – 8:07am
Roughly 1 in 5 women make their first disclosure of family violence to their doctor, but a lack of confidence in knowing how to best respond can hold GPs back from coordinating support services.
A pilot project in Tasmania is helping GPs and medical practices better recognise signs of domestic and family violence.
Trauma-informed primary care response to sexual assault and intimate partner violence
When a patient presents following sexual assault – particularly in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) – the health response must prioritise safety, dignity, and autonomy above all else. Victim-survivors of IPV often live under coercion, fear, and threats of retribution, and disclosures regarding sexual health can be weaponised by abusive partners.
Media Release - Sexual justice exists with free and healthy decisions for victim-survivors of violence
MEDIA RELEASE
2 September 2025
SEXUAL JUSTICE EXISTS WITH FREE AND HEALTHY DECISIONS FOR VICTIM-SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE
Engender Equality is using World Sexual Health Day 2025 on 4 September 2025 to remind Tasmanians that sexual health can only truly exist when people can live without discrimination, fear, shame, and stigma.
Sexual assault is an insidious and violent violation and is also a health issue for many victim-survivors. Sexual health care after assault means communicating with care and making sure victim-survivors feel believed, supported, and afforded every safeguard for their health and recovery.
Engender Equality CEO, Alina Thomas says,
“The reality is that sexual assault within intimate partner relationships carries particular and heightened risks.
“Sexual assault creates health risks and fears including the possibility of sexually transmissible infections (STIs), unwanted pregnancies, and trauma.
“When victim-survivors disclose sexual assault, their safety, dignity, wellbeing and their autonomy must be at the centre for treating General Practitioners and other frontline professionals.
“The conversations that follow—about sexual health, transmittable infections, and safe follow-up—can be especially delicate.
“Shame, coercion, and fear of retribution often stop victim-survivors from being able to manage the full scope of the risks and consequences of their situation. They may be in the very high risk position of having to talk to their abusive partner about their sexual health and this can expose them to escalations of violence and abuse.
“While it may feel important to rush towards screening for sexually transmitted infections, this response must be delivered by practitioners informed about signs and symptoms of infection, and the fact that many STIs are asymptomatic—so is not necessarily the most urgent task when an assault has been reported.
“Every step of this process needs to be explained in simple, supportive terms that restore agency and reduce shame.
“This is where our Primary Care Family and Sexual Violence program is essential in providing support to General Practices with specialist knowledge and skills to navigate this complexity,” Ms Thomas said.
Jess Drew is the Manager of the Primary Care Family and Sexual Violence Pilot, funded by Primary Health Tasmania. Ms Drew explains,
“While in most cases, the risk of an STI transmission is no higher than any other sexual exposure, the fear itself is real and requires careful management.
“We test at baseline to rule out pre-existing infections, but most infections won’t show up until 14 days or more later.
“That’s why clear information, follow-up testing, and supportive care are so important; building trust through listening to and validating the patient is critical,” Ms Drew reported.
Additional Information
This Primary Care Family and Sexual Violence support initiative is funded by Primary Health Tasmania (Tasmania PHN), through the Australian Government’s Primary Health Networks Program. Engender Equality is a not-for-profit agency leading the program in partnership with Laurel House.
More information including how General Practices and Aboriginal Health Services can connect with the service is available at 03 6268 1663, admin@pcfsv.org.au or www.engenderequality.org.au/pcfsv.
If you would like to engage a lived experience representative (case study), please see Advocates for Change – Engender Equality , email advocates@engenderequality.org.au or 0415 740 524.
Media Contact: Alina Thomas 0438 788 291
Position Description: PCFSV Support Specialist - Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Pilot - Service Integrators Initiative - Hobart-based
Engender Equality has been contracted by Primary Health Tasmania to deliver the ‘Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Pilot –Service Integrators Initiative’ to June 2026, in partnership with Laurel House – North and North West Tasmania Sexual Assault Support Service. This involves establishing a new service with a statewide team of PCFSV Support Specialists to:
- Undertake capacity building activities with General Practices/AHSs about FDSV
- Undertake capacity building activities with FDSV services about General Practices/AHSs
- Apply the expertise of victim-survivors of FDSV in undertaking 1. And 2. above
- Participate in research and evaluation of the PHT pilot.
The implementation of 1. to 4. above will be supported by:
- Specialist practice and clinical governance
- Data collection and reporting
- Engagement with PHT and its partners
- Administrative and logistics support for the PCFSV Support Specialist team
- A Governance Committee, comprised of the CEOs of Laurel House and Engender Equality.
We offer an inspiring workplace, competitive wages, flexible hours and salary packaging options.
Please note that applications must be EMAILED TO ceo@engenderequality.org.au and include a cover letter, an up-to-date CV and a separate document addressing each item in the ‘Selection Criteria’ and ‘Other Mandatory Requirements of this role’, with reference to the ‘Role Responsibilities and Accountabilities’ as appropriate.
The vacancy closes 5pm – 21 September 2025.