New research shows that one in five Australians have experienced sexual violence in adulthood. The actual rate may be even higher

Violence against women has been declared a national crisis in Australia, with National Cabinet holding its first meeting dedicated solely to the issue in May. Building on their commitment to implement the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children, state and federal governments have committed to a range of different actions.

But sexual violence has received less attention in the media and political commentary of late. A study released overnight by the Australian Institute of Criminology provides clear evidence of why we cannot allow the fight against sexual violence to disappear from the national agenda.

Shockingly, the study found that one in five (22.1%) participants had committed one or more forms of sexual violence against another person since the age of 18. One in ten (9.9%) had done so in the past 12 months.

The prevalence of sexual violence

The study by the Australian Institute of Criminology is one of the largest surveys on sexual violence conducted in Australia. The study surveyed 5,076 Australians aged between 18 and 45 about various forms of sexual violence.

In the survey, the term sexual violence was defined in the broadest sense and includes sexual harassment and coercion, sexual assault and sexual abuse based on images.

Regarding sexual harassment and coercion, one in ten (10.2%) participants reported having pressured someone to date or have sex since age 18. One in twenty (6%) reported having used emotional or psychological manipulation to get someone to participate in sexual activities (for example, telling the person they were a prude if they did not have sex).

Just over 4% of respondents said they had pressured someone to take drugs or alcohol before engaging in sexual activity. Another 4% said they had pressured someone to engage in unprotected sexual activity.

The most common forms of sexual assault were kissing without consent (6.6%) and touching without consent (6.4%). 2.5% of participants reported having had sexual intercourse without the victim’s consent since age 18, while 2.4% said they had engaged in covert behavior (removing a condom without consent during intercourse) or similar behaviors.

About 3.3% of participants reported engaging in image sexual abuse, which was defined as taking, sharing, or threatening to share intimate, nude, or sexual images or videos of another person without their consent.

The gendered nature of sexual violence

The study concludes that sexual violence in Australia is highly gendered, with men significantly more likely than women to report using all forms of sexual violence, including among perpetrators of multiple forms of these behaviours.

There are gender differences that are noticeable. Men were almost twice as likely to pressure someone into using drugs and alcohol before asking them for sex. Men were three times more likely to blackmail someone into sex in the 12 months before the survey than women.

Men were also three times more likely than women to experience sexual abuse based on images. Men were significantly more likely than women to experience multiple forms of sexual violence.

In line with recent calls for a greater focus on serial offenders, the study found that 28.9 percent of participants who had used some form of sexual violence had used multiple forms of sexual violence since age 18.

While these figures are shocking, the report’s authors also warn that they likely underestimate the true prevalence of sexual violence in Australia. Perhaps unsurprisingly, more than 500 survey respondents refused to provide information about their sexually violent behaviour.

Why the focus on the perpetrators?

Until now, our understanding of the nature and extent of sexual violence in Australia has been based on self-reports from victims.

The latest results from the Personal Safety Survey show that one in five adult women and one in 15 adult men have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Although these data from victims are important, they reveal little about the people who perpetrate sexual violence.

In recent years there have been calls for a better understanding of who commits domestic, family and sexual violence. Research shows that all forms of sexual violence are under-reported to the police, yet our understanding of perpetrators is based almost exclusively on data from the police and other justice systems.

A much better understanding of perpetrators of sexual violence is needed to enable effective responses, early interventions and prevention initiatives. This research partially fills this gap.

What is needed now?

Researching perpetrators is a difficult undertaking, especially when it comes to behaviors such as domestic, family and sexual violence. Social desirability bias means that people may not want to answer such questions truthfully for fear of being portrayed in a bad light. Perpetrators may also deny or downplay their behavior.

But we cannot effectively respond and prevent what we do not measure. Sexual violence prevention programs and perpetrator interventions must be based on an accurate understanding of the target population and the nature of the abusive behavior. This will maximize the likelihood that they will be effective in preventing future harm.

This study represents a step forward in our understanding of sexual violence in Australia, but we still need more detailed evidence.

We need to better understand the characteristics of those who perpetrate different forms of sexual violence and explore the nature of sexual violence in under-researched communities such as LGBTQIA+ and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

This is critical to the current and future work of federal, state and territory governments in developing effective interventions for people who perpetrate sexual violence.