Hosted by Blue Borage – Friday 14 November 2025
This full-day online event brings together survivors, parents, practitioners, legal experts, and advocates from around the world to engage in bold, informed and compassionate conversations on sibling sexual trauma and abuse (SSTA).
In seven unique sessions, we explore systemic gaps, healing approaches, relational repair, legal navigation, and what’s needed to support individuals and families beyond disclosure of SSTA.
- Date: Friday 14 November 2025
- Location: Online (Zoom)
- Tickets: See below to book via Eventbrite or for organisational team bookings contact us at connect@blueborage.com.au to discuss invoicing, group discounts and arrange payment via direct deposit.
Why Seven Conversations?
Sibling sexual trauma is the most common — and least understood — form of intrafamilial abuse. For too long, families, survivors, practitioners and professionals have faced this crisis without coordinated language, support systems, or public dialogue.
This event aims to:
• Create safe, inclusive, trauma-aware spaces for conversation
• Uplift survivor, parent, and practitioner voices
• Share research, resources and real-world responses
• Model dignity-driven approaches to address shame that remains at the core of what keeps individuals, both children and adults, whole families and society silent on what has often been called ‘the hidden taboo’.
Each “conversation” is unique, a presentation, Q&A, conversation, and blends lived experience, clinical insight, legal and cultural context, and shared storytelling.
Featured Contributors
Dr Anne Welfare (Australia)
Clinical Psychologist, Family Therapist, PhD in Sibling Sexual Abuse
Dr Anne Welfare is a clinical psychologist and family therapist with decades of experience working with individuals and families affected by sexual abuse. Beginning her career in psychiatric institutions in the early 1980s, Anne witnessed firsthand the widespread impact of childhood sexual abuse long before trauma and complex PTSD were widely understood.
She spent 35 years at The Bouverie Centre in Melbourne, where she led systemic family therapy training and founded a specialist sexual abuse team in 1990. A rise in sibling sexual abuse referrals led Anne to pursue her PhD on this under-acknowledged topic. She now provides consultation, training, and private practice support for survivors and families navigating historic disclosures.
Michael Derby (Australia)
Mental Health Social Worker, Clinical Family Therapist, Therapeutic Leader
Michael Derby is an accredited mental health social worker and clinical family therapist with over 17 years of specialised experience in trauma, family violence, and sexual abuse. He’s led therapeutic programs for children and adults, supported state-wide responses to harmful sexual behaviour, and contributed to inquiries into institutional child abuse.
Michael is creator of the Exploring Shame clinical card kit, and serves as Executive of Therapeutic and Recovery Services at The Sexual Assault and Family Violence Centre. Through his private practice, Anchor Point Therapy, he continues to offer trauma-informed relational healing.
Brandy Black (pen name) (USA)
Parent Advocate, the siblingsexualtrauma.com website creator, Cofounder of 5WAVES
Brandy Black (pen name) is a parent advocate, survivor ally, and cofounder of 5WAVES, Inc. After her child’s disclosure of SST, Brandy created the globally recognised website siblingsexualtrauma.com, the most comprehensive resource hub on SST to date.
Brandy leads a global Facebook community for parents and co-leads research partnerships focused on the needs of families after disclosure. Her work bridges lived experience with public education and survivor-informed systems change.
Maria Socolof (USA)
Scientist, Author, Survivor Advocate, Cofounder of 5WAVES
Maria Socolof is a Harvard-trained environmental health scientist and the author of The Invisible Key: Unlocking the Mystery of My Chronic Pain. Her healing journey led her to discover her chronic pain had roots in childhood sibling sexual trauma.
Maria co-founded 5WAVES and was a founding member of Incest AWARE, and now advocates for survivor-informed responses to abuse. At the symposium, she will co-present findings from a global parent survey conducted with Hebrew University, highlighting unmet family needs and paths forward.
Jacinta Guilhermino (UK)
Social Worker, Trainer, Policy Advisor, NOTA Chair
Jacinta Guilhermino is a registered social worker with 25+ years’ experience across sexual abuse response, child protection, and restorative family work. Based in the UK, she co-founded DG Etali Ltd and chairs NOTA South West.
Jacinta co-authored the AIM Intervention Guidance (2019) and supports professionals working with young people and families impacted by harmful sexual behaviour. Her work is grounded in relational safety and restorative justice.
Emma Rees (Australia)
Social Work Practitioner and Researcher
Emma Rees is a frontline social worker and early-career researcher whose academic thesis, Beyond Denial, Silence and Collusion, explores fostering allyship with children who experience sexualised abuse and torture. Her work integrates survivor-centred advocacy and critical systemic reflection. Emma believes that honest research and cultural introspection are keys to better responses.
Farrah Motley (Australia)
Legal Practitioner Specialising in Literary & Defamation Law
Farrah Motley provides legal support to individuals writing or speaking about their experiences publicly. With expertise in defamation, privacy, and publishing law, she provides comprehensive analysis of manuscripts, giving clarity around risks and rights. Her guidance empowers survivors to navigate public advocacy with care and courage.
Wendy Walker (Australia)
Survivor, Writer, Essayist
Wendy Walker is a survivor-writer whose unpublished essays reflect on the emotional undercurrents of sibling sexual trauma within families. Her writing captures what is often left unsaid — the layered grief, longing, and reckoning after disclosure. At the closing session, Wendy will read selected excerpts to invite others into reflective dialogue on identity, rupture, and healing.
Susan Dunlop (Australia)
Founder, Blue Borage • Host, Conversation Café Series
Susan Dunlop is the founder of Blue Borage and a certified 3VQ® and TED*® Trainer and trauma-aware certified coach. A former CEO and self-leadership coach, survivor of sibling sexual trauma, and advisory board member of 5WAVES, Susan is committed to dignified, trauma-aware dialogue that breaks cycles of silence. She created the Conversation Café model to hold space for courage, truth-telling, and hope. Seven Conversations is part of her ongoing mission to centre survivor and family voices in systems change.
Program & Schedule
Program coming soon.
The day will feature seven sessions, including live roundtables, keynote presentations, audience Q&As, creative showcases, and reflective dialogues.
A detailed schedule and Zoom access information will be provided to registered participants closer to the event.
Registration gives individuals access to the full day’s program with flexibility to drop-in/drop-out. The 12-hour program allows live global participation expanding on the monthly Conversation Cafe events since January 2025.
Hosted by Blue Borage
Seven Conversations is part of the Blue Borage Conversation Café Series. It is a global initiative supporting trauma-informed leadership, family healing, and survivor advocacy.
These events offer structured, compassionate space for co-creating new understandings of justice, relationship repair, and intergenerational change.
To learn more about Blue Borage or sign up for future events, please visit blueborage.com.au or join our newsletter.