Unspeakable

In the last episode of Unspeakable, we look at the various preventative programs that are being implemented by Victoria Police. We speak with police members and partners about the introduction of Multidisciplinary Centres, the Enhanced Response Model to Child Sexual Exploitation which is aimed at protecting at-risk children and the Knox SOCIT's local body safety awareness education program.

Technology is now part of our daily lives. We use it to search, learn and connect with others but how is this increased accessibility impacting on people in the community who may be vulnerable? In this episode we look at offenders who use digital platforms to groom and offend against their victims. We learn about the work of Victoria Police's Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team who play a critical role in investigating these crimes. We also speak with Frank, a father whose daughter was the victim of online grooming to an older man who she met in a gaming environment.

Sexual offending is overwhelmingly a relationship-based crime and resistance from victims happens far less than many people thing. A common reason for this is grooming. In this episode we learn of Lucy's story. She was sadly abused by her step-father from the age of eight. We also speak with William Wainwright, a forensic psychologist, to learn more about how offenders control and manipulate their victims into compliance and silence.

A number of questions have come up as a result of Unspeakable and to help answer them we spoke with Inspector Everett Moutsidis from the Sexual Offence and Child Abuse Team. The next episode of Unspeakable will be released on Monday 2 October.

Historically people have wrongly assumed that victims would resist, fight back or have injuries from a sexual assault or rape. Research and victim accounts tell us otherwise, turning on their head any notions of 'typical' or 'normal' reactions. In this episode, we speak with a senior researcher for ANROWS about a 2013 study conducted by VicHealth, Carolyn Worth for SECASA, Dandenong SOCIT Detective, Joanne McDonald and Di, a victim-survivor who was tragically abused by her father from the age of nine.

In the second instalment of our six-part series about understanding sexual crime, we discuss what happens beyond that initial report, from the perspective of an investigator and a victim. We also look at how police members become detectives in the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team and the specialist knowledge that's required to investigate sexual crimes. If you are seeking help you can call the CASA Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292 or to report a sexual offence to police please call Triple Zero (000) or your local police station.

The reporting of sexual crime has increased significantly in Victoria over the last six years, but there is still a long way to go in shifting the way we think about this sort of crime. In the first episode of Unspeakable we'll explore what's involved in reporting sexual offences to police. If you are seeking help you can call the CASA Sexual Assault Crisis Line on 1800 806 292 or to report a sexual offence to police please call Triple Zero (000) or your local police station.

Unspeakable is a podcast produced by Victoria Police. It offers a rare glimpse into the real life cases and the people behind them. Over six episodes, you'll hear from investigators, experts, victim-survivors, bringing their stories out from the shadows and into the light reality.