Word list

This list explains what the bold words in this document mean.

A person raising their hand. There is a smiling face and a safety icon above them.

Culturally safe

When something is culturally safe, people feel:

  • respected and heard
  • safe to be who they are.
2 adults standing behind a child. 1 of them has their hand on the child's shoulder to protect them. There is a violence icon next to them.

Domestic and family violence

Domestic and family violence is when someone close to you hurts you, such as:

  • your partner, like your boyfriend or girlfriend
  • a member of your family
  • someone who takes care of you
  • someone you live with.
A speech bubble showing a person raising their hand and pointing to themself.

Evidence

When you give evidence, you talk about what happened to you.
A person communicating with an interpreter.

Interpreter

An interpreter is someone who:

  • uses your language
  • helps you understand what someone is saying.
A lawyer wearing a suit and holding a file.

Lawyer

A lawyer is someone who:

  • understands the law
  • helps other people understand the law.
A group of people from different backgrounds.

Multicultural

Multicultural people:

  • come from different backgrounds
  • speak languages other than English.
A rights document with a balanced justice scale.

Rights

Rights are rules about how people must treat you:

  • fairly
  • equally.
A person looking upset. Someone behind them is touching their shoulder.

Sexual violence

Sexual violence is when someone:

  • makes you do sexual things you don’t want to do
  • does something sexual to you that you don’t want them to do.
A person looking worried with their hands to their mouth. There is a problem icon next to them.

Trauma

Trauma is the way you feel about something bad that happened to you.

For example, you might feel scared or stressed.

Trauma can affect you for a long time.
A close up of an eye.

Witness

A witness is a person who saw a crime happen.

They can share what they saw or heard to the court.