Sexual violence causes profound trauma and many victims seek counselling and support in its wake. Access to counselling is crucial to promote recovery for victim-survivors.
Like anyone seeking health care, victim-survivors have a reasonable expectation that what they say to a counsellor – which might include a psychologist, a rape crisis worker or social worker – will remain private.
Yet, counselling records including notes, transcripts and even audio and video files are ending up in the hands of the alleged perpetrators’ legal teams. These records, including calls to 1800 RESPECT, might even relate to counselling the victim-survivor received before the rape.
