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Recorded statistics

Home: Survivors: For Males: Research statistics

Recorded Crime - Victoria, Australia 2007-2008

Rape

Victoria Police recorded 1,252 rape victims during 2007/2008, a decrease of 2.0% on the 1,277 recorded in 2006/2007.

There were 1,144 female victims (down 2.3% compared with last year); and
103 male victims (down 1.0%).
Nearly a third (409 or 32.7%) of all victims of rape recorded during 2007/2008 were under the age of 18 years. (2)

There were 1,562 rape offences recorded in 2007/2008, which is a decrease of 8.1% on the 1,700 offences recorded in 2006/2007.

Of the 1,562 rape offences recorded in 2007/2008, 1,234 (79.0%) were cleared (resolved) during the same period.
An additional 240 offences were cleared that had been reported in previous years.
Offences recorded during 2007/2008 were cleared by the processing of offenders in 847 offences (68.6% of clearances).
70 (5.7%) offences resulted in no offence being detected.
The complaint was withdrawn in 305 (24.7%) offences; and
12 (1.0%) were cleared by other means.

Sexual assault (non-rape 3)

The number of victims of sex (non-rape) offences recorded during 2007/2008 was 3,472, an increase of 4.5% from the 3,323 victims recorded in 2006/2007.

There were 2,859 female; and
607 male victims.
Of all sex (non-rape) victims, 2,543 (73.2%) were less than 18 years old. (4)

There were 6,263 sex (non-rape) offences recorded in 2007/2008, an increase of 0.9% on the 6,210 offences recorded in 2006/2007. Of the 6,263 sex (non-rape) offences recorded in 2007/2008:

4,817 (76.9%) were cleared during the same period.
An additional 639 offences were cleared that had been reported in previous years.

(2) Please note, the number of victims differs significantly from the number of offences recorded due to some victims reporting multiple counts of victimisation.
(3) Sex (non-rape) includes offences such as indecent assault, indecent act, willful and obscene exposure in public, incest, sexual penetration of a child, and gross indecency.
(4) Please note, as with rape offences the number of victims differs significantly from the number of offences recorded due to some victims reporting multiple counts of victimisation.

Family violence

Of all assaults reported in 2007/2008, 23.7% were family violence related.
Of all family violence incidents reported in 2007/2008, just under one half of all offences were assaults.
During 2007/2008, there were 31,676 incidents where police submitted family incident reports.
This is 6.9% higher than the 29,648 reports submitted in 2006/2007.
Of all family incidents attended, Police sought intervention orders in 7,061 instances, which is a slight increase of 1.7% from the previous financial year.
7,612 family incidents attended by police in 2006/07, resulted in laying charges against one or more parties involved.
This is the same as the previous year.
Between July 2003 and August 2004, approximately 15% of assaults were family violence related.
Since the introduction of the Code of Practice for the Investigation of Family Violence, launched on 31 August 2004, this figure has risen to approximately 24%.

Download: Recorded Crime - Victoria, Australia 2007-2008 ( 214Kb )

Source: Victoria Police

Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2008

There were 19,781 recorded sexual assaults in Australia in 2007, with 94 victims per 100,000 of the population.

As with assault data, sexual assault data for 2007 have been aggregated using Australian Bureau of Statistics data from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia and included in the chart regarding details of location. Of all sexual assaults recorded in 2007, 95% occurred in these states.

Of sexual assaults recorded in 2007, 65% occurred in dwellings.
Sexual assault was least likely to occur in retail locations (4%) and residential locations peripheral to dwellings (1%).
Reported sexual assaults have increased by 51% since 1995, at an average of 4% each year.
The number of recorded sexual assaults by month is typically highest from January to March and from August to November and lowest from April to July.

Download: Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2008 (3.5 Mb )

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology

Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2007

Sexual assault data for 2006 have been aggregated using ABS data from New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia and included in charts regarding details of location, and gender and age of victim. These states represent 95% of all sexual assaults recorded in 2006.

The rate of recorded sexual assault increased between 1996 and 2006 from 79 to 88 persons per 100,000.
Sexual assault was most likely to occur in the home environment. Of sexual assaults recorded in 2006, 66% occurred in dwellings.
Sexual assaults on streets/footpaths and in recreational locations accounted for 6% each.
Sexual assault was least likely to occur at retail locations (4%) or on transport (3%).
84% of sexual assault victims in 2006 were female.
The highest rate of sexual assault was recorded for females 10-14 years of age at 544 per 100,000 females in that age group.
For males, rates were also highest for those aged 10-14 (95 per 100,000 relevant persons) and younger than 10 (78 per 100,000 relevant persons).
Boys made up 32% of sexual assault victims aged less than 10 years.
Where the relationship between victim and offender was stated, most sexual assault victims had some form of relationship with the offender (78%).
Two in five sexual assaults were perpetrated by a family member. The figure is higher (47%) for male victims.
In 38% of sexual assaults the offender was a non-family member known to the victim.
Females (23%) were more likely than males (15%) to be sexually assaulted by strangers.

Victims of sexual assault (recorded violent crimes), 1996-2006 (Table 1)
1996	14,542
1997	14,353
1998	14,336
1999	14,104
2000	15,759
2001	16,897
2002	17,977
2003	18,237
2004	18,400
2005	18,172
2006	18,211

Download: Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2007 ( 2.9Mb )

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology

Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2004

There were 18,237 victims of sexual assault recorded by the police in Australia in 2003, an increase of 1% from 2002.
There were about 92 victims of sexual assault per 100,000 population, 149 per 100,000 females and 33 per 100,000 males.
82% of sexual assault victims were female.
Between 2002 and 2003, the number of male victims of sexual assault increased by 1% while the number of female victims increased by 4%.
Reported sexual assaults have increased by an average of 4% each year since 1995.
The number of recorded sexual assaults is typically highest during the months of January to March and August to November and lowest during April to July.

Download: Australian Crime: Facts and Figures 2004 ( 344Kb )

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology

Sexual Assault in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2004

Recorded Crime Statistics (RCS) for 2003 reported police records of sexual assault victimisation involving a total of 18,237 victims.
The overall sexual assault victimisation was 0.09%, or 91.7 victims per 100,000 persons.
There were 14,892 female victims and 3,255 male victims.
Females recorded rate of 0.15% (149.8 victims per 100,000 females) for all females in Australia.
The rate for males was 0.03% (33.0 victims per 100,000 males).

Download: Sexual Assault in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2004 ( 1.8Mb )

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Reporting

Non-Reporting and Hidden Recordings of Sexual Assault in Australia 2002

Police are most likely to be notified of sexual assaults perpetrated by strangers, followed by estranged partners or known non-intimate offenders.
Assaults by intimate partners are least likely to be reported.
Less than one in five sexual offences disclosed to interviewers in the Women's Safety Survey were reported to the police.

Download: Non-Reporting and Hidden Recordings of Sexual Assault in Australia 2002 ( 61Kb )

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology

Sexual Violence in Australia 2001

For those that do choose to report:

Sexual assault has among the highest rates of acquittal.
Sexual assault has the lowest rates of proven guilt compared with other offences.
More than 70% of sexual assault incidents are not reported to police.
Only about one in 10 reported incidents results in a guilty finding.
Women are more likely to report the crime to police if the offender is a stranger.
Women are less likely to report current husbands, de facto partners or boyfriends.

Download: Sexual Violence in Australia 2001 ( 247Kb )

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology

The Experiences of Child Complainants of Sexual Abuse in the Criminal Justice System

When asked if they would ever report sexual abuse again following their experiences in the criminal justice system:

Only 44% of children in Queensland;
33% in New South Wales; and
64% in Western Australia indicated that they would.

Download: The Experiences of Child Complainants of Sexual Abuse in the Criminal Justice System ( 214Kb )

Source: Australian Institute of Criminology

Study of Reported Rapes in Victoria 2000-2003

Of the 812 reports where the case outcome could be established:

Offenders were charged in only 15% of reported rapes examined.
Police did not proceed with more than 60% of investigations.
15.1% of rape complaints were withdrawn.
46.4% of rape complaints resulted in No Further Police Action: where police decide to take no further action on a complaint.
21.3% of rape complaints were 'still ongoing' or could not be determined on the basis of the information in the case records.
Only 2.1% of reports were designated by police as false.
26% of cases in this study involved victims with a psychiatric disability or mental health issue.
Where complaints were withdrawn, no statistically reliable profile of the characteristics of cases could be established.
These cases did, however, involve slightly older victims, who were more likely to have used alcohol and/or other drugs around the time of the offence.
Offenders were proportionally more likely to be current or former partners in cases where the complaint was subsequently withdrawn compared to cases where charges were laid.
Some of these allegations were made against offenders who were, at the time of the rape, under family violence intervention orders.
For 69 cases (8.2%) there was more than one incident of rape involved. For 106 cases (12.5%), there were multiple incidents over periods of time, 6.5% over a period of years and 6% over contained periods.

Characteristically rape victims who were most likely to see charges laid were:

Male;
Physically injured;
Medically examined;
Not influenced by alcohol or drugs at the time of the offence;
Subject to other offences alongside the rape; and
Raped by offenders well known to police for previous sexual offending.

Cases that resulted in No Further Police Action were typically more likely to involve:

Younger victims;
Victims who were acquainted or who had a cursory relationship with the offender; and
Victims who had consumed alcohol or other drugs around the time of the offence.

Download: Study of Reported Rapes in Victoria 2000-2003 ( 450Kb )

Source: Statewide Steering Committee to Reduce Sexual Assault

Victimisation prevalence comparisons

Sexual Assault in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2004

The National Crime and Safety Survey (NCSS) of 2002 estimated that 33,000 adults in Australia were victims of sexual assault in the 12 months prior to the survey.
This represented a prevalence rate of 0.2% (or 200 victims per 100,000 adult persons), which was the lowest rate for personal crimes reported in that survey.
The prevalence rate for robbery was 0.6% and for assault it was 4.7%.
In Recorded Crime Statistics for 2003, 18,237 reports of sexual assault victimisation were made to police in Australia.
This represented a victimisation prevalence rate of 0.09% (or 91.7 victims per 100,000 persons of all ages), which was higher than the rate for robbery (0.08% or 84.2 victims per 100,000 persons), but lower than the rate for assault (0.8% or 798.0 victims per 100,000 persons).

Download: Sexual Assault in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2004 ( 1.8Mb )

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Statistics and annual reports for individual state and territory police are available from their websites

This is not an exhaustive list of research in the area of family violence and sexual assault, merely a starting point. As the locations of web pages often change, many of these reports have been made available through this page to assist readers. Please note that these pdfs may not contain the latest version or any recent changes so it is recommended that researchers check the author's website for updates, suplements or amendments. All published details correct as at July 2009.

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