Record number of sexual assaults “tip of the iceberg”

Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin says there is “hope” about action on domestic and family violence. Sixty business leaders will attend a roundtable to discuss their role in reducing domestic and family violence. “The Government is rapidly looking at how it can work across state and territory lines, across different departmental areas – it is really thinking about what its responsibilities and commitments are in the bigger picture,” Ms Cronin told Sky News Australia. “Examples like today – we invited over 60 business leaders to this roundtable today, we had immediate responses from some of Australia’s biggest companies wanting to sit at the table. “That gives me hope.” If you or someone you know needs support: 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732 Lifeline: 13 11 14 Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636

Figures released last week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the number of Australians reporting sexual assault has reached a 31-year high and is expected to rise by 11 per cent in 2023.

It was the twelfth year in a row that the number of registered victims increased. The majority of victims were women aged between 17 and just ten years old.

Speaking to Sky News Australia on Sunday, Ms Bevan explained the increase was partly due to more women feeling able to speak out, although many still choose to remain silent due to “shame and stigma”.

“Sexual violence is another one of those invisible, undiscussed epidemics in this country,” she said.

“Only about eight to ten percent of people who are victims of rape or sexual assault actually report it. So when we see numbers like this, a really significant increase in reports of sexual assault and reports to the police about sexual assault, we know there’s a lot more going on. What we’re seeing is just the tip of the iceberg.”

While the domestic violence expert acknowledged that Australia is “slowly breaking down the taboo” around reporting sexual assault, she stressed that the ABS found that about a third of women who reported sexual assault first had to overcome the fear of not being believed.

Even more worrying, however, was the finding that more than two-thirds of the reported assaults occurred in residential areas and that 39 percent of these were specifically listed by the ABS as being due to family or domestic violence.

Therefore, Bevan said, governments and aid services must step up their efforts to support women fleeing domestic violence, as sexual violence causes “significant harm and trauma”.

“We need this specialised response to sexual violence, we need all the other immediate crisis support and longer-term support, but when we see this happening in the context of long-term intimate partner relationships and in the context of domestic violence, it helps us understand that this is an issue that needs attention now,” she said.

The rise in the number of reports of sexual assault among young Australians is unfortunately in line with child abuse statistics, Ms Bevan added, adding that girls aged between 10 and 17 are at “an increased risk” of becoming victims of sexual violence and assault.

As the government of Albania announced a nearly $1 billion aid package in May to combat rising rates of domestic and family violence, the CEO of Full Stop Australia said more needs to be done to combat sexual assault at all levels.

“First of all, we have to start believing that this country has a problem with sexual assault. We have to start talking about it, we have to start taking it seriously,” she said.

“We need to mobilize resources in ways we haven’t done before, and it’s really going to require governments of every jurisdiction and every color to say, ‘Okay, we know this is a national epidemic and we need to do something about it now.’

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“We need to provide the resources needed to respond, we need to provide the resources needed to prevent, and we need to actually get a grip on our legal system.”

A key factor, according to Bevan, is the “complete failure” of the justice system to support survivors of sexual violence. This prevents perpetrators from being effectively held to account and reinforces the fear and stigma that prevent victims from speaking out.

“We need to completely change the way our justice system responds,” she said.