When Julie Dempsey first entered a psychiatric ward, she thought it was the end of her troubles.
Instead, it was just the beginning.
"I went there to be treated. Instead, I came out more traumatised," she said.
While there, she was physically and sexually assaulted by male patients.
"An aggressive male booted me in the stomach and I fell back on the floor," she said.
"I had to deal with this male for the rest of my hospital stay."
For decades, Ms Dempsey has lobbied for segregated mental health facilities to allow women to feel safe while healing.
Finally, her calls have been answered.
Australia-first facility for women
The Victorian government announced on Tuesday it would deliver a new specialist women's mental health service – the first of its kind in Australia.
The service will aim to address a key recommendation from Victoria's mental health royal commission to deliver 35 acute beds for public patients, in a private setting.
It's hoped it will ease pressures on the public system, while ensuring women receive the care and support they need, as soon as they need it.
The service will be for women who identify as LGBTIQ+, those who have experienced trauma and sexual abuse, are struggling with eating disorders or perinatal mental illness.
The service will be run in partnership by Ramsay Health Care, the Alfred and Goulburn Valley Health.
Of the 35 beds, 30 will be at Ramsay Health's Albert Road Clinic in Melbourne, and five at Shepparton Private Hospital.
Depending on the success of the model, similar sites could eventually be established across regional Victoria.
A place for healing
The model of care was co-designed alongside women like Sandy Jeffs, who have a lived experience of the mental health system.
She was stalked relentlessly by a male patient while in a locked ward several years ago.
"I remember ... how unsafe I felt, how traumatised I felt," she said.
In regional areas like Shepparton, the mental health system is buckling under rising demand.
Shepparton Private Hospital chief executive Rhys Jones described the announcement as "a monumental change in mental health for the area".
"Demand for mental health services is higher than ever before," he said.
For Ms Jeffs, it signifies hope.
"Places where they can get good therapy and good care, and where they can find their souls and their hearts."
