Bombshell investigation reveals recordings of rape victims handed to abusers
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/bombshell-investigation-reveals-recordings-of-rape-victims-handed-to-abusers/news-story/636e56ae94798b48cfe5bf7cb7fb9ff6
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> The data shows that at least once a week, every week, 1800 RESPECT – run by Telstra Health – is being subpoenaed, and not only is the $147 million government-funded service handing over confidential client notes, but 1800 RESPECT is also handing over complete audio recordings of victim counselling sessions, which then end up in the hands of accused offenders and their legal teams.
> Even more alarming, in 2024, 1800 RESPECT introduced web-based video counselling. Our FOI shows that complete video files of counselling sessions are also being subpoenaed and eventually handed to offenders, and it is not possible for callers to ask for video recording to be turned off during counselling sessions.
What the actual (insert more words here)
So many women I know have had their address and phone numbers passed on to their abusers too
This is beyond shameful, but it will be swept under the rug and nothing done
> While 1800 RESPECT is entitled to fight these subpoenas – and other services such as FullStop Australia always do – our investigation could find no record of them having ever done this.
Absolutely cunts.
In the article they mention that other services fight the subpoenas and are successful, 1800 RESPECT don’t even attempt to protect victims.
People really need to read that article and raise hell over this shit.
This is absolutely disgusting.
Ah shit that’s awful, that’s illegal right? They can go to court for this right?
Wow I would have literally offed myself if my 1800respect calls were subpoenad
I’m a survivor. This is fucked and fucking terrifying.
Oh the stories I could tell about Telstra Health as a former social worker who had the unfortunate reality of working in one of their programs. It’s not just 1800 Respect, their LVP program is equally as dangerous and harmful to the victim survivors who access it. Another program taken from the community sector and handed to this for profit call centre operator. The level of incompetence, mismanagement, unethical practice is staggering and would shock most people.
I’ve considered speaking to the media about my experiences, but I’m worried about being targeted by them, they seem to have a lot of sway with the government
This needs to be made public knowledge throughout social media. What an absolutely disgusting abuse of privacy and decency.
And they wonder why we STILL have to fight for women’s rights.
If lawyers are ok with going after these conversations and handing them to perpetrators, then they should be ok with their names and the names of their employers being published on a public list as well.
Then they can go home and explain it to their partners.
>Jess Denham, a child sexual abuse survivor who was raped by both her biological parents, fought hard to keep her counselling notes protected. In a 2015 affidavit, a then 23-year-old Ms Denham pleaded with judge Sarah Huggett to keep her counselling notes private, explaining how she had discussed many intimate topics in therapy, including how her childhood sexual abuse continued to affect her current sex life and relationships.
>However, boxes of Ms Denham’s counselling notes were ultimately subpoenaed and handed to her parents and their legal team. Later, in 2023, Ms Denham learnt those **confidential files had been shared and used in a podcast about the case.**
What the actual fuck. Disgusting
>In 2022, Mr Kramer was found guilty of raping Ms Lane, a crime which carries up to 14 years in jail in NSW. However, Mr Kramer was ordered to perform 300 hours of community service for the rape.
>Ms Lane is not permitted to know where he performed his community service, as that would violate “his right to privacy”.
HIS RIGHT TO PRIVACY
Well that’s really good to know and fucking appalling.
I know they’re not health professionals as such but I always assumed conversations to these kind of hotlines would be confidential? That recordings if absolutely necessary would only be kept for a couple of weeks?
Also uhhh in case anyone was wondering why nobody goes through with reporting DV this shit shows you why. That they can subpoena the notes from any psychologist you see so your abuser can then use that against you in court is crazy.
I have interacted with this org & I am surprised something like this hasnt come out sooner. Lots of great counsellors working there, but Telstra Health are awful & should never have been given this contract. Theyve also been given the escaping violence payment contract after winning it in a tender & that has been a nightmare since they took over as well.
Corporate orgs should not be given contracts for services like this. They do not care about their clients, they just care about profits. So upsetting for all those impacted by this 🙁
Why would this surprise anyone. The way Australian’s Justice system handles sexual abuse cases and the sentencing terms are deplorable. First you’re raped by the perpetrator, then you’re raped by the justice system.
As a survivor, this was hard to read. Jesus fucking christ.
That is a disgusting violation of privacy.
1800 respect should be closed if they record ‘any conversation’
If staff feel threatened, just hang up.
Before, and after all conversations the staff must say ‘this is recorded, and can be used in court, do you understand’ if yes, go ahead , if no, call ends.
I tried to get help from 1800respect.
They kept kicking me off the chat once they found out had NDIS, telling me to use my NDIS funding to secure my home. I just needed to talk to someone.
I had been raped multiple times, I was pregnant with a pregnancy that was terminated against my will and without my knowledge, fly screens had been slashed, I had been purposely fed mouldy food. I bought an emergency back up phone and modem, and woke up to find the SIM cards completely destroyed. My skin was peeling off, I had been coughing up blood, because he purposely tampered with the refrigerant at the back of the fridge so it was leaking and making me and my pets sick. It eventually flooded my kitchen. My medications were tampered with.
I just got kicked off, over and over again, with them telling me to use my NDIS.
When I finally got someone on the phone, she just kept saying “mmm, mmm” and when I broke and yelled “are you even listening to a word I’m saying?” She just said “mmm”
I never felt more alone than trying to get help for my DV.
I am beyond shocked after reading all this. I feel sick to my stomach.
“Go to fucking therapy!” said my assaulter.
“No,” I said, “and really, it’s a damn shame we never got married. Because if you fuck up again, *I’ll* be subpoenaed. And I’ll *have* to talk.”
I figured out that this could happen to me if I sought counselling in the future, because when the defendants in a civil case subpoenaed my medical records, they got absolutely all of them. Because they might choose to call me as a witness.
The plaintiff was my father. They also subpoenaed my mother’s records.
It looks like they’ve removed the paywall to Nina’s stories. I was Googling whether this could happen in terms of DV and SĄ, and it led me to Nina’s Twitter. This is the one I read a few years ago.
[‘Never heard of anything like that’: Shocking reason Aussie woman was jailed](https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/never-heard-of-anything-like-that-shocking-reason-aussie-woman-was-jailed/news-story/bf7f4318d36a29883a561a4d7824d13c)
When I see people being told to call these particular help lines and to go to therapy, I jump into that thread and I tell them “maybe don’t”.
Because although practices *can* push back on the subpoena, many won’t. It costs money to do so. A subpoena carries the threat of being held in contempt, and that’s terrifying, so a lot of practices comply wholesale.
The police also routinely now, download the contents of a victim’s phone in its entirety, using Israeli invented tech, Celebrite.
The data is analysed by AI and the report is then often handed over to the defence.
Victims may assume that only relevant text messages are downloaded, when this is not the case.
Victims who refuse to hand over their phones to the police are generally told that it is a requirement for their case to be investigated.
In civil law, commercially sensetive evidence is often handed over to the opposing party. However, they classify it as attornet’s eyes only. I am appalled that such sensetive evidence would end up in the hands of the accused and his defence team is not called in by any disciplinary committee.