More than 3000 people have signed a survivor-led petition to keep sexual assault counselling notes private, after an investigation by news.com.au this week revealed that rape survivors routinely have their private counselling notes subpoenaed, and these notes are then shared with offenders and their legal teams.
The campaign, Keep Counselling Confidential, was launched after an exclusive Freedom of Information investigation by news.com.au revealed that 1800 RESPECT is being subpoenaed an average of once a week, for counselling notes, and audio and video recordings.
These recordings have been shared with perpetrators, and played in court, in both criminal proceedings and in Family Court matters.
For victims, the privacy intrusion exacerbates feelings of violation, humiliation, powerlessness and distress.
Last night, Unions NSW declared their support for the campaign.
“The NSW Criminal Procedures Act must be amended,” Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey said.
“No survivor should walk into a courtroom and discover that the defendant’s lawyers have been reading their therapy sessions.
“Nearly 100,000 Australian women have been sexually assaulted by a co-worker. This is a workplace issue, and Unions NSW will not stand by while the legal system weaponises their most private moments against them.”
Sexual assault survivor Jess Denham* also spoke at the Trades and Labor Council meeting, and launched a number of related art pieces.
“The first time I walked into the sexual assault counselling room they said ‘This is a safe and confidential space’,” said Ms Denham, who was raped from age five by her biological father, Rob Gilfillan.
“The room was calm and inviting…I spoke about my childhood trauma… I spoke because I was told I could trust it would stay in the room and that my disclosures would be kept in confidence. I spoke because I believed my emotions, my feelings, my pain would not be taken from me and shared with my abusers.
“But that promise came crashing down, when my abuser’s lawyers subpoenaed my sexual assault counselling notes. My therapy was turned into evidence for the defence.
“From that day, I could not fully trust another crisis line, hospital or counsellor. The one thing I had worked for, a safe, judgment-free space with a trusted person, got ripped away from me…Once again there was nowhere for me to go that was safe.”
Both of Ms Denham’s parents, Rob and Karen Gilfillan were ultimately found guilty. Rob Gilfillan is currently serving the longest jail sentence for child sex offending in Australia, with more sentencing to be handed down in April.
Ms Denham said her art pieces helped her process her trauma, when counselling became unsafe.
“When my notes were subpoenaed, not only did I lose trust in my counsellor, I also lost an important avenue to express myself,” she said.
“I needed to find a new method of expressing myself which was safe and which I knew couldn’t be taken away from me.
“Using art was a way to be able to get through the trial. It meant I could put my feelings and my shame somewhere where it could not be subpoenaed. That kept me alive.”
“On the darkest of days when you feel so alone, when you feel you cant trust anyone, I looked to myself, and realised my art could not be taken away from me. I’m now ready to share my art with the world.”
The Keep Counselling Confidential petition calls for tougher legislation to protect counselling notes. The campaign is also backed by sexual assault services, academics, counsellors, social workers, lawyers, survivor-advocates and psychologists.
Comments on the petition include:
“I signed to stop the misuse of my profession against survivors,” wrote one person.
“How is this not already illegal? Victim-survivor counselling access must be protected and any information about that access (including case notes) must remain confidential and owned by the victim-survivor themselves,” wrote another.
“Victims should not have to suffer humiliation in front of anyone, let alone their abuser,” commented a third.
Nina Funnell is a Walkley Award winning freelance journalist
*Jess Denham gives conditional consent to be named in this article and other articles by Nina Funnell. No other media have permission to name Jess Denham or in any way identify her or other survivors and sexual assault complainants who are connected with this story.