You’re invited to the Inaugural International Freedom from Sexual Violence Summit.
The three-day event is hosted by Sexual Assault Services Victoria (SASVic), the peak body for Victoria’s 19 specialist sexual assault and harmful sexual behaviour services.
4-6 November, 2026
Pullman Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia
Banquet dinner package
Share a three-course meal with like-minded people committed to action on sexual violence at Carousel (Albert Park) on Thursday, 5 November.
Community resilience: Ballarat in Action
Summit attendees are invited to attend a pre-summit exclusive event to hear about the fantastic work in Ballarat to respond to sexual violence, child sexual abuse and other forms of gender-based violence.
View the summit program!
Driven by decades of feminist work that broke the silence on sexual violence, more and more people are recognising that everyone – individuals, organisations and governments – has a role to play in setting us free from sexual violence.
Why you should attend
We all have a role to play in setting us free from sexual violence.
We welcome everyone to the summit, from frontline sexual assault services and survivor advocates to educators, business leaders and researchers.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship is a powerful way of showing your staff and stakeholders that you’re committed to providing leadership in creating freedom from sexual violence, while engaging with hundreds of passionate and knowledgeable conference participants.
Your sponsorships will:
Bring pioneering global leaders to Melbourne to inspire delegates help set the agenda for action on sexual violence in Australia and beyond show the community that you back survivors and the specialist services who stand with them as they rebuild their lives.
Please email conference@sasvic.org.au for our sponsorship prospectus.
Our Speakers
Professor Carlene Firmin (UK)
Professor of Social Work and Director of the Global Centre for Contextual Safeguarding at Durham University
Carlene Firmin has researched young people’s experiences of community and group-based violence since 2008 and advocates for comprehensive approaches that keep them safe in public places, schools, and peer groups. Firmin coined the term Contextual Safeguarding in 2015 to describe a vision for improving safeguarding responses to young people at risk of harm beyond their family homes and since then has overseen a research programme to convert this vision into a conceptual and practice framework, in order to reform safeguarding responses and policy frameworks concerned with extra-familial harm, including child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation and peer-abuse, in the UK and internationally.
Graeme Simpfendorfer (AUS)
Former Detective Sergeant and survivor advocate
Graeme Simpfendorfer is a former Victoria Police Detective Sergeant, senior leader and investigator. During almost three decades with Victoria Police, Graeme worked in serious crime and the Homicide Squad before leading specialist teams and becoming Officer in Charge of Wodonga Detectives.
A defining chapter of Graeme’s public leadership journey came with his recent TEDx talk, which explored vulnerability in leadership, male role modelling, and the often-unspoken cost of carrying responsibility. In this address, Graeme spoke publicly for the first time about being a victim-survivor of child sexual abuse, reframing vulnerability not as weakness, but as a foundation for integrity, accountability, and authentic leadership.
Getting to the summit
The summit will take place in Melbourne, Victoria at the Pullman Melbourne Albert Park.
The address is:
65 Queens Road Melbourne 3004
See the address on google maps
Driving/Uber
The venue is located approximately 10 minutes by car from Melbourne CBD and 30 minutes from Melbourne Tullamarine Airport.
If driving to the hotel, the carpark entrance is via Lorne St, which connects to both St Kilda Road and Queens Road.
Public transport
A tram service runs directly from Flinders Street along St Kilda Road. Trams #3, #5, #6, #16, #64, or #67 will take you to stop 27. These services will also return back to Flinders Street.
Please visit the venue website for more information.
Prices
NON-MEMBERS
SASVIC MEMBER
3-day registration + Banquet dinner
$1734
3-day registration
$1584
3-day registration + Banquet dinner
$1470
3-day registration
$1320
You are a member of SASVic if you work for one of the 19 specialist sexual assault services in Victoria. There is a further discount for regional services.
Please email conference@sasvic.org.au if you do not have a discount code.
Cancellation policy
Please refer to the International Freedom From Sexual Violence Summit cancellation policy. All cancellations must be made in writing via conference@sasvic.org.au
Stay up to date with the summit and other SASVic news.
Other enquiries For all other enquiries, please email conference@sasvic.org.au
About your hosts SASVic
Sexual Assault Services Victoria (SASVic) is the peak body for specialist sexual assault (SA) and harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) services in Victoria. We work to promote rights, recovery and respect for survivors and other people impacted by sexual violence and harm. We seek to achieve this by working collectively to change attitudes, systems and structures that enable sexual violence to occur.
Sponsored by
Our Exhibitors
