The REACH project

The REACH project: Recovery And Care to promote Healing for Victorian survivors of sexual violence.

The REACH project is a research partnership between the University of Melbourne and Sexual Assault Services Victoria with collaboration from Women with Disabilities Victoria. It focused on better understanding what helps people to recover and heal after sexual violence.
The project has been informed and guided by people with lived experience of sexual assault and focus groups with cross-sector practitioners and was funded by Family Safety Victoria. Findings from REACH show that recovery is enabled through personal, relational and social change. Often, the journey towards ongoing recovery includes the following stages:

• Having a voice and a purpose
• Securing a safe foundation
• Feeling calmer and more in control
• Recognising and making sense of the harm
• Redressing the wrong
• Finding connection and belonging

Speakers: Sexual Assault Services Victoria & University of Melbourne

Phoebe Turner-Myatt

Secretariat and Project Officer & Investigator, REACH

Research Project, Sexual Assault Services Victoria
Phoebe holds a Master of Science (research) graduate from La Trobe University, during which she conducted a mixed-methods research project with over 300 Victorian women exploring their experiences of postnatal depression screening and recommendations for future practice. Currently Phoebe is a Project Officer and Secretariat at Sexual Assault Services Victoria (SASVic), the peak body for sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour services in Victoria Role at SASVic. She is a co-author on the REACH project.

Liz McLindon

Clinical Research Fellow, University of Melbourne

Liz is a Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne and The Royal Women’s Hospital of 20 years’ experience. In addition to her research work, Liz works as a Counsellor/Advocate at the Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA House).