Recognising and Responding to sexual abuse and sexual violence

Yellow Ladybugs Pop Up Podcast Series: Episode 1
Recognising and responding to sexual violence for families and carers of autistic girls, teens, and gender diverse youth
Welcome to the Yellow Ladybugs Pop Up Podcast Series, where we bring you two key topics our community have been asking us for. We are proud to present this first episode in this series—a peer led discussion for families and carers of autistic girls, teens, and gender diverse youth on recognising and responding to sexual violence. This episode has been made possible through funding from the Information Linkages and Capacity Building Grant.
In this important discussion, which draws on real lived experiences, you will hear from three expert panelists:
First is Stephanie Robertson, an autistic occupational therapist who explains why building body awareness and interoceptive understanding is foundational to safety and empowerment for our autistic young people.
Second is Detective Leading Senior Constable Teresa O’Sullivan - a specialist in sexual offences and parent to an autistic child - she shares practical strategies on identifying grooming behaviours, supporting disclosures, and navigating both in person and online risks.
And finally, Emma Jacques, a neurodivergent parent of autistic teens. She shares her no nonsense, real life advice on enthusiastic consent, boundary setting, cyber safety, and building a supportive network.
The panel is hosted by Katie Koullas, CEO of Yellow Ladybugs, autistic/ADHD woman and parent to neurodivergent teen girls – who has a strong advocacy track record and deep passion around this topic.
So what does this episode cover?
- We provide clear insights into why autistic young people are statistically at greater risk of sexual abuse and violence, and discussion about how we can change these statistics
- We share practical tools: how to teach body safety, name private body parts precisely, reinforce that “no is valid”, and role play boundaries around consent.
- We give advice on how to support autistic young people in identifying their internal sensations (their interoceptive awareness) so they trust their own cues rather than rely on external validation.
- We look at techniques for handling online risks—from inappropriate requests through to doxing—and for establishing trusted, safe people and networks.
- We explore a gentle yet powerful script for responding to disclosures: “I believe you. You are not at fault. We will get through this together.”
- We also cover support strategies for carers including grounding exercises, self regulation methods, and discussion around how our reactions can shape outcomes more than the event itself.
Please note that this episode directly addresses sensitive and potentially triggering topics including sexual abuse and grooming. If you need to pause or step away at any point, that is perfectly okay.
You can review the attached resource which includes helplines and more information.
https://yellowladybugs.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/YellowLadybugs/EQSmEwHrrSZAjVQQlUPuih8BqB8NaKL0q__mu0pcCInvnA?e=QzlhYk