Pathways to support services for victim/survivors of child sexual abuse and their families
Pathways to support services for victim/survivors of child sexual abuse and their families
Antonia Quadara, Mary Stathopoulos, Rachel Carson, Rae Kaspiew, Serpil Bilgic, Helena Romaniuk, Briony Horsfall and Jessie Dunstan

This report, for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, focused on service pathways – that is, how victim/survivors find out about, access and maintain engagement with the most helpful types of services in both the short and long term. The project team collected data using a survey with victim/survivors and parents/carers, interviews with victim/survivors, and group interviews with service providers.
The project explored how victim/survivors of child sexual abuse (and secondary victims) navigate pathways to relevant and helpful support services to: identify the different pathways for victim/survivors of child sexual abuse in institutional and other extrafamilial contexts; and identify the barriers – and facilitators – to accessing support services.
The key purpose of the project was to inform the Royal Commission’s thinking on strategies and approaches to enhancing the provision of therapeutic and non-therapeutic support services for victim/survivors of child sexual abuse.
Quadara, A., Stathopoulos, M., Carson, C., Kaspiew, R., Bilgic, S., Romaniuk, H., Horsfall, B., & Dunstan, J. (2017). Pathways to support services for victim/survivors of child sexual abuse and their families. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Sydney.
Further reading
Summarises the available statistical information about the nature and extent of sexual assault and abuse in Australia
Traces the path of research on violence against women to conclude that gender inequality is an underlying determinant in the factors that cause it
The study examines the prevalence and nature of allegations of family violence and child abuse in family law children's proceedings filed in 2003
This Research Summary demonstrates that female sex offending, although a serious issue, makes up a very small percentage of all sex offences
AIFS news
Get the latest news about our publications, research and upcoming events.