knowmore is one of over 80 organisations and 320 individuals to sign an open letter calling on the NSW government to scrap proposed changes to the state’s Victims Support Scheme.
The reforms would deny many survivors access to the support they need, forcing them to collect their own evidence of violence and find their own counsellor to help them with recovery.
The open letter to the NSW Commissioner of Victims Rights demands the government abandon the reforms and immediately begin a comprehensive review of victims support with proper consultation.
knowmore Executive Officer Warren Strange said the proposed changes “run counter” to the recommendations of the Royal Commission.
“The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was clear about the need for service systems for victims and survivors of abuse to be trauma-informed and underpinned by the principles of accessibility and acceptability,” Mr Strange says.
“The proposed changes to Victims Support run counter to this and will leave some victims and survivors, particularly older people who are survivors of child sexual abuse, unable to access the support they need.”
Signatories to the open letter include survivors, service providers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, migrant and refugee organisations and community legal centres.