In 2022, the horrific northern river floods in Lismore forced people into evacuation centres. However, that wasn't the only devastating consequence of the natural disaster. Reports claim that women had been subject to sexual assaults in the centre. As a result, police are going to investigate the safety protocols at the mass evacuation centres.
Investigation into Lismore evacuation centres
The NSW police and the Department of Communities and Justice will conduct the investigation later this year. The review is going to look into the role of the police officers at the evacuation centre.
The State Premier, Chris Minns, vowed that they would look into the current procedures they have to ensure something like this would never happen again. Additionally, he said that the police are taking it very seriously. Minns stated:
"It's a very disturbing report – it will be fully examined by the NSW government."
Furthermore, a spokesperson for the DCJ stated that they were:
"Very concerned about the findings of the University of Newcastle's research."
They added that the government would be taking steps and "ensuring the safety of women and children is embedded in emergency responses, from rescue to recovery".
What happened at Lismore?
Two years ago, devastating floods shook the Lismore community. As a result, the government organised a large evacuation centre at Southern Cross University to help those affected. Lots of people needed to stay at the centre for a long period of time. However, the department said that it was "extremely challenging" to control.
The report made by the University of Newcastle suggested that women were unsafe whilst in the shelters. During the study, seven out of twenty-four claimed to be aware of sexual assaults occurring at the centre.
Safety risks at evacuation centres in Lismore
There were several safety risks at the shelters. For one, there was a lack of planning. As a result, women and children shared small spaces with violent and sexual offenders. Those suffering from drug addictions were also in the small spaces. Furthermore, some sexual assaults resulted in pregnancies. Therefore, the lack of access to abortion services and pharmacies was a significant issue. Apparently, people called police every night to the centre following the assaults. Consequently, the police had a 24-hour presence at the centre from the start of March 2022.
The DCJ took over control from the Resilience NSW last year. Since then, the DCJ has made a manual for the smaller evacuation centres. Part of this document lists how to make safe spaces within the shelters to keep vulnerable people/groups safe. The department representative said that they have started hiring more people to work in these centres after these disasters.
