Sexual assault has been an ongoing issue in Australia. The number of sexual assault cases reported to the police has risen for the tenth year in a row, according to recent data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
More than 31 thousand cases of sexual assault were reported to the police in 2021. This was an increase of 13 per cent from the previous year.
William Milne, head of crime and justice statistics at the ABS, released a statement in which he said the rate of sexual assault has “risen from 83 to 121 victims per 100, 000 people since 2011”.
Family and domestic violence have played a significant role in this increase in reported sexual assault cases. The ABS found that 37 per cent of sexual assaults were recorded as family and domestic violence related.
The largest increase in family and domestic violence related sexual assault incidents occurred between 2019 and 2021. In 2019, there were 8985 victims of family and domestic violence related sexual assault cases. In contrast, there were 11, 367 in 2021.
The rise in family and domestic violence related sexual assaults has been attributed to the Covid-19 lockdowns. A 2020 media release from AWAVA and Fair Agenda said the “behavior of abusers” suggests that the ongoing impact of Covid-19 leads to “increased danger for those experiencing abuse in their home”.
A significant portion of sexual assault victims have been female. The ABS data shows women are six times more likely to experience sexual assault than men. The exact numbers were 26, 669 thousand female victims in comparison to 4350 thousand male victims.
Moreover, the recorded number of female victims has risen by nearly 11 thousand since 2011.
But a report published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2020 said almost nine in ten women experiencing sexual abuse do not contact the police.
The report said the common reasons for this include women feeling as though they could deal with the experience themselves or refusing to consider the incident to be a serious offense.
A significant portion of young people have been experiencing sexual assault. Nearly 61 per cent of sexual assault victims were under the age of 18 when the incidents occurred, according to the ABS data.
The high numbers of underage sexual assault victims have led to the development of a helpline called Stop It Now!.
This helpline is focused on preventing child sexual abuse and is expected to receive more than five thousand calls each year in Australia.
If you, or anyone you know needs support, call LifeLine on 13 11 14, or contact Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
