Content warning:
This passage includes sensitive content about sexual violence and may be triggering for some readers.
1. Older women do present — but services are not designed specifically for them
The forensic sexual assault service was open to women of all ages, including older women.
However, services were not tailored to older women, despite their different needs, capacities, or circumstances.
Staff aimed to meet individual needs, but the structure of the service itself was not age-specific.
2. Forensic examination is the primary purpose — and often the reason women attend
Women are almost always brought in by police, family, or aged care staff specifically for forensic capture.
The order of priorities is:
- Forensic evidence collection
- STI testing and treatment
- Treatment of injuries
- Counselling
Half of women consent to release results to police; half choose not to, wanting the option later.
Key point:
Frontline workers should understand that forensic collection is framed as an option, giving women the ability to decide later about police or court involvement.
3. Older women face practical and logistical barriers
Women with disabilities or cognitive impairment often require patient transport, which is difficult to arrange and delays examination.
Even reaching the service can be a major challenge.
4. Shame, confusion, and self-blame strongly influence older women’s decisions
Across age groups, but particularly for older women:
Feelings of shame, degradation, or responsibility influence their decisions.
They may delay reporting while trying to piece together what happened.
If the perpetrator is someone they know, they often take much longer to consider reporting due to:
- Family impact
- Relationship impact
- Fear of others finding out
- Confusion about whether they share blame
Important:
These emotional responses often lead women to miss the forensic evidence window.
5. Women’s life experiences with sex shape how they understand sexual assault
The interviewee emphasised that:
Women’s past sexual experiences — including giving sex to keep peace, reassure partners, or maintain relationships — can shape how they interpret assault.
This can influence:
- Whether they identify assault as assault
- Whether they disclose
- What they decide to do next
Older women may therefore feel responsible or confused, even when assault is clear.
6. Cases involving dating apps also affect older women
They may delay reporting (e.g., the woman who waited four days).
7. Historical trauma vs. current harm — both require support
- Something that happened recently
- Something that happened decades ago
Both situations require support.
Some older women may be mentally unwell and believe they are being harmed, requiring careful assessment.
8. For vulnerable older women, immediate survival needs come first
Homelessness and basic needs often outweigh the ability to process or disclose a sexual assault.
Frontline workers must recognise competing priorities.
9. In aged care settings: “If it could have happened, act as if it happened.”
Aged care staff should:
- Report concerns immediately
- Address immediate medical needs
- Not investigate — that is the police’s role
- Refer the woman for support
Even past abuse or unclear accounts still require a trauma-informed response.
10. Lack of physical injury or DNA does NOT mean nothing happened
Many assaults (digits, objects, oral sexual assault) leave:
- No visible injury
- No reliable DNA
DNA is short-lived and may not be recoverable.
This can leave victims feeling unbelieved, especially in legal processes.
11. Some types of assault feel even more degrading for women
The interviewee noted that women forced into:
- Anal assault
- Oral assault
- Assault with a digit or object
often feel more degraded than by penile-vaginal penetration.
These experiences may be even less likely to be disclosed.
12. Cognitive impairment complicates disclosure and evidence gathering
Cognitive issues can:
- Limit the woman’s ability to explain what happened
- Reduce clarity or detail
- Make evidence collection difficult
This adds another layer of vulnerability and requires an especially sensitive response.
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