CMHL Sexual Safety forum

CMHL hosted the Mental Health Sexual Safety Forum on 17 May 2023 with over 100 virtual attendees.
This online forum provided an opportunity for people working in the public mental health sector to learn about work that is happening in Victoria to improve sexual safety within Area Mental Health Services.

The theme was 'Improving Sexual Safety in Mental Health Services. Where we have been, where we are and where we want to be'. We heard from the consumer perspective and the family, carer and supporter perspective about sexual safety. The Mental Health Complaints Commissioner provided updates on their work and some history of the 2018 Right to Be Safe Report. The Office of the Chief Psychiatrist presented on their reporting requirements and their new Sexual Safety Guideline. Safer Care Victoria presented on their improvement work and we heard from some Area Mental Health Services who are doing targeted improvement work.

Presentations:
- Sexual safety from a consumer perspective. Individual staff matter! by Sharon Williams
- Sexual safety from a family, carers, supporter’s perspective by Melinda Lucas
- MHCC Sexual safety, where we have come from by Kaaren Dahl and Meredith Pavone, Mental Health Complaints Commissioner
- Clinical governance, quality and oversight of sexual safety incidents by Dr David Huppert and Kate Day, Office of the Chief Psychiatrist
- Safety for all: Improving sexual safety in mental health inpatient units by Kellie Griffin and Misha Adair, Safer Care Victoria
- Sexual Safety, the Monash Health Journey by Robyn Humphries
- Alfred Mental & Addiction Health: Sexual safety online training package by Shelley Anderson and Michael Olasoji
- Introducing the Statewide Mental Health Women’s Service by Dr Phoebe Gao and Helen Searle

The day was designed to inform the sector about the different pieces of work underway to improve sexual safety and to generate ideas about how to continue to make improvements.

Thanks to everyone who attended, members of the working group and those who presented.