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9 March 2022

Do you ever feel unsafe? Safer Community can help

As a Deakin student, you have access to a range of health and wellbeing services. One of the most important is Safer Community – our central point of contact for behaviour that makes you or others feel unsafe, including reports and disclosures of sexual harm and family violence.

What does threatening behaviour look like?

Sexual harm is any unwanted sexual behaviour that you have not agreed to. It can take many forms, including touching, exposure, sexual images taken or shared without consent, or any form of sexual penetration.

Family violence is any violence that occurs in current or past family, domestic or intimate relationships, such as between parents and children, siblings and intimate partners. It includes behaviours such as:

Concerning behaviour includes anything that:

What should I do if I feel unsafe?

Regardless of where or when it happened, if you experience or witness any of these types of behaviour Safer Community is here to support you. This includes assisting you with a safety plan if appropriate or providing advice and referrals to other services.

We want everyone to feel safe, respected and included while they’re at Deakin.

Visit the Safer Community website to find out more, including what will happen if you make a disclosure, how we manage your privacy, and what ongoing referrals, support and monitoring are available.

How do I contact Safer Community?

Safer Community is not an emergency or crisis response service. If you or someone else needs immediate help, please contact Victoria Police by calling Triple Zero (000) or Deakin Security on 1800 062 579.

For confidential assistance, contact us from Monday to Friday, 9am–4pm by:

Where can I find other information and help?

There’s a range of support services available, both at Deakin and in the community:

Remember: if your personal situation becomes dangerous or unsustainable, you can leave home to escape family violence at any time, regardless of the current COVID-19 situation.



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