What is sexual abuse?

Abuse is when someone does or says things that:

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hurt you
upset you
scare you.

Sexual abuse is when someone makes you do sexual things you:

do not want to do

are too young to do.

They might:

A montage of 5 images. The first is a man putting his hands on a woman’s shoulders, who looks uncomfortable. The second is a woman putting her hands on a male co-worker’s shoulders. The third is a man putting his hand on a woman’s leg. The fourth is an illustration of a man and a woman looking into each other’s eyes. The fifth is a woman shielding her eyes and trying to look away.

make you have sex with them
make you touch them
touch you in places you do not want to be touched
make you watch other people have sex
make you look at sexual images you do not want to see.

Anyone could abuse you, including:

A montage of 6 images. The first is a man yelling at a woman, who is looking down. The second is a man putting his hand on a woman’s head, who looks uncomfortable. The third is a woman and her support worker. The fourth is 3 young people together in a kitchen. The fifth is a man putting his hand on a woman’s shoulder while she is trying to work on a laptop. The sixth is 3 people standing together and talking while another girl is standing alone, looking down.

family
friends
carers or other people who support you
neighbours or people you live with
people you work with
members of your community.

A young man shrugging with his hands in the air

The person abusing you might not know what they're doing is wrong.

You might feel too scared to:

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speak out

A woman putting her hand out to say stop

stop them.

You might not know how to get help.

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They might make it hard for you to tell anyone.

If abuse happens, it is important to speak out.

You should tell someone you trust.

Who can help you?

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If you are:

in danger now, call the WA Police on 000
not in danger right now, call the WA Police on 13 1444.

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If you want to report sexual abuse, call the Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline on

1800 880 052

An advocate is a person who can help you or speak up for you.

If you would like support from an advocate, call People With disabilities WA on

(08) 9420 7279

1800 193 331

If you want to make a complaint about a disability service, contact the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission:

1800 035 544

contactcentre@ndiscommission.gov.au

www.ndiscommission.gov.au

A man putting his hand on a woman’s leg. There is a phone icon next to the image.

If you want someone to talk to about sexual violence or sexual assault and come up with a plan to be safe, call the Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) on

(08) 6458 1828 in an emergency

(08) 6458 1820 for general information.

Jane's Story

I live in a group home and need help with things like getting dressed, going to the toilet and having a shower.

Recently, one of my support workers touched me in a sexual way while I was having a shower. I felt really uncomfortable – this had never happened to me before and I knew it was wrong for him to do this to me.

I decided to tell one of my other support workers what had happened. She said that it was never ok for someone to touch me like that, and she helped me contact the police.