COTA SA welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to Discussion Paper Review of Sexual Consent Laws in South Australia.

COTA SA is currently undertaking a research and co-design project for Office for Women that explores Family, Domestic and Sexual violence experienced by older women in South Australia (due for completion in October 2024). It has been found that the intersectionality of age, gender and violence is often missing from academic literature and research. As a consequence, the unique experiences of older people, and especially older women, who are experiencing, or have experienced, violence are often invisible in the sexual violence discussion and rather get picked up in discourse around elder abuse.

In the context of the Discussion Paper, we urge that the unique experiences of older people are considered regardless of whether it is labelled ‘sexual violence’ or ‘elder abuse’. This is particularly important in the context of older people who have experienced sexual violence in Residential Aged Care, or where the perpetrator is known to and trusted by the victim, such as a carer or family member. We have made comment on the Discussion Paper and discussion questions where we feel we can meaningfully contribute.