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Location: Home  »  Womens Safety Agenda - Elimination of Violence  » Previous Initiatives  » Sexual Assault

Sexual Assault

Introduction

Sexual assault is a serious crime that affects approximately 1 in 5 Australian adult women throughout their lifetime. The impact on individuals, their family and friends, and the wider community is felt on a number of levels.1

Initiatives, projects, strategies and policy advice provided by the Office for Women to ensure elimination of sexual assault.

National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault (NICSA)

• Sexual assault in Australia
• National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault
• Key elements of the National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault
• Sexual assault projects

Sexual assault in Australia

Despite increasing recognition of the enormous cost of violence to our society and existing strategies to address this, the incidence of sexual assault in Australia remains unacceptably high. In 2002 the number of reported sexual assaults had risen to 17,850 from 16,744 in 2001 ² , and these figures are likely to be significantly less than the true incidence as many women do not report sexual assaults to the police. For instance, the 1996 Women's Safety Survey found that one in ten women who experienced a sexual assault since the age of 15 reported the last incident to the police 3 .

Whilst sexual assault can happen to anyone - men, women, or children - the overwhelming majority (86%) of victims of sexual assault are female 4 . The Women's Safety Survey found that 77.3% of women who had experienced sexual assault or a threat of sexual violence since the age of 15 knew the perpetrator 5 . The impact on individuals, their family and friends, and the wider community is felt on a number of levels.

National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault

In the 2001-02 Budget, the Australian Government announced funding of $16.5 million for a National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault (NICSA). NICSA represented the Australian Government's commitment to reduce and prevent sexual assault, the Initiative's aim was to implement strategies that addressed the increasing incidence of sexual assault in the community

A further $6.7 million in funding was announced for the initiative in the 2004-05 Budget. These funds were used to enhance the national campaign for the elimination of violence - Violence Against Women. Australia Says NO.

Key elements of the National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault

The initial focus of NICSA was to establish a sound evidence base for effective policy and service responses. Work focused on making better use of existing sexual assault data; collecting new national data; and establishing a research body to explore issues relating to sexual assault.

Sexual assault projects undertaken through NICSA

Sexual Assault Information Development Framework

In 2002 OfW commissioned the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to develop a Sexual Assault Information Development Framework (IDF).
The IDF provides a new way to look at sexual assault information as well as a plan to address gaps in data. The IDF identifies existing sources of data on sexual assault, establishes areas of uniformity and difference across States and Territories, identifies gaps in data currently available, and proposes strategies to address these gaps. The IDF provides a sound base for well targeted programme and product delivery in the area of sexual assault.

Sexual Assault Data Analyst

OfW has commissioned a full-time data analyst position at the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) to work solely on sexual assault, especially in the area of 'hidden' reporting and recording of sexual assault, that is where sexual assault is subsumed in another crime.

Non-Reporting and Hidden Recording of Sexual Assault: An International Literature Review

This report is an international literature review of published and unpublished crime and justice sources on the issue of non-reporting and the 'hidden' recording of sexual assault against females aged 16 years and older (including prisoners, Indigenous women and women from Non-English speaking backgrounds).

Non-Reporting and Hidden Recording of Sexual Assault: An International Literature Review

Review - PDF (489Kb)

The project has produced a research paper on recidivism of sexual assault offenders, which is now available. Recidivism of Sexual Assault Offenders: Rates, Risk Factors and Treatment Efficacy (PDF 417 Kb) attempts to identify the rate of recidivism amongst sexual assault offenders, their key characteristics, and other relevant background indicators. Type of programmes currently available within the justice system to address the issue of recidivism are also discussed.

Currently, the position is undertaking a project on prosecutorial decision making. The project aims to establish attrition and conviction rates for a sample of cases referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in participating states. This project aims to address the deficiency in knowledge about prosecutorial decisions and the understanding how DPP's discretionary powers impact on attrition rates for sexual offenders.

Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault

NICSA is also funding the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault to improve access to current information on sexual assault to assist policy makers and others interested in this area to develop evidence-based strategies to prevent, respond to, and ultimately reduce the incidence of sexual assault. The Centre is based at the Australian Institute of Family Studies , and produces regular newsletters and briefing papers available from www.aifs.gov.au/acssa .

National Framework for Sexual Assault Prevention

Building on the evidence base established by the NICSA, OfW undertook a project to develop a National Framework for Sexual Assault Prevention. The project includes:

• A review of prevention, early intervention approaches and sexual assault responses in Australia and internationally, including an analysis of the activities undertaken by NICSA;
• Consultation with Australian Government agencies, state/territory agencies and other relevant bodies; and
• Development of a cross-sectoral policy framework including a set of national principles for sexual assault prevention and recommendations/key priorities for future work in the area.

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Women's Safety Australia (1996): p. 12
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Recorded Crime (2002): p. 10; Australian Bureau of Statistics, Recorded Crime (2001): p. 8.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Women's Safety Australia (1996): p. 29.
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Crime and Safety Survey (2002): p. 7.
5. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Women's Safety Australia (1996): p. 23.