Palliative Care ACT is partnering with Canberra Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC) to provide specialised training for staff and volunteers supporting people receiving palliative and end-of-life care.
Sometimes, a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness or conversations about end-of-life care can create a space where a person feels able to speak about experiences of sexual violence, including experiences that may have happened many years or even decades earlier. How that disclosure is received matters.
CRCC will deliver Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence free training designed to give people working and volunteering in palliative care greater knowledge, confidence and practical skills to respond in a trauma-informed, survivor-centred and compassionate way.
The training will explore how to listen and respond without judgement, prioritise safety, choice, trust and empowerment, respect a person’s boundaries and autonomy, and recognise when specialist support may be appropriate.
Palliative Care ACT CEO Paul Arztenhofer said the partnership reflects the importance of recognising and responding to the whole person when providing palliative care.
“People receiving palliative care bring their full life experiences with them. For some people, a diagnosis of a life-limiting illness or conversations around end-of-life care may create a space where experiences that have never previously been spoken about come to the surface.
“When someone chooses to disclose an experience of sexual violence, the response they receive matters. We want our staff and volunteers to feel equipped to respond with compassion, sensitivity and confidence, while respecting the person’s choices and autonomy.
“We are very grateful to Canberra Rape Crisis Centre for sharing its specialist expertise and helping strengthen the way our teams respond when disclosures arise.”
CRCC has supported victim-survivors of sexual violence across the ACT for 50 years.
CRCC CEO Tiffany Karlsson said disclosures can occur at any stage of a person’s life, and the response a victim-survivor receives can have a significant impact.
“Disclosures of sexual violence can come at any stage of life, sometimes many decades after the events themselves. For victim-survivors, the response they receive in that moment can shape whether they feel believed, respected and safe or whether they feel silenced all over again.
“For 50 years, CRCC has walked alongside victim-survivors across the ACT. We are proud to partner with Palliative Care ACT to bring that specialist expertise to teams supporting people through some of the most significant moments in their lives.”
The free training will be available to staff and volunteers from Palliative Care ACT, Leo’s Place and Clare Holland House, with interested Canberra Health Services staff also invited to attend.
Through the partnership, Palliative Care ACT and CRCC aim to strengthen the capacity of people working and volunteering in palliative care settings to respond sensitively when disclosures arise and to continue providing compassionate, person-centred care throughout a life-limiting illness.
Hear Tiffany and Paul in conversation with Georgia Stynes on ABC Radio Canberra (10 minutes, starting at approximately 1:33:05) Drive – ABC listen