A similar increase in NSW last year was ascribed by Attorney-General Mark Speakman in part to news coverage of then-Australian of the year Grace Tame’s advocacy for victims of sexual assault and former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins’ allegation she was sexually assaulted inside Parliament House.
“While this spike comes off the back of intense media coverage and long overdue public discussion of sexual violence in our communities,it also demonstrates what we already knew,that these crimes are significantly under-reported each day,” Speakman said in April last year about an increase in reports in March 2021.
NSW reports crime statistic data every three months,while the ABS releases Australia-wide data annually.
Full Stop Australia’s director of counselling services Tara Hunter said dialogue around sexual assault might be part of the increase in reports police are seeing.
“These conversations allow people who have experienced sexual violence to have some understanding that this was a crime,” she said.
“We certainly saw an increase in demand in our services because people who haven’t disclosed for many years come forward.”
The increase – part of a trend that has seen the highest rate of victimisation since the ABS started keeping data – could also be a reflection that sexual assault is increasing,Hunter said.