The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released new analysis of Personal Safety Survey (PSS) and Recorded Crime – Victims data, shedding further light on the experiences of victim/survivors of sexual violence in Australia.

The new analysis of 2016 PSS data found persons who

had experienced childhood sexual abuse were at an increased risk

of experiencing sexual assault later in life.

ABS Director of the National Centre for Crime and Justice Statistics, Will Milne, said “Women who experienced childhood sexual abuse were three times more likely to experience sexual assault later in life, compared with women who had not been sexually abused as children (43 per cent compared with 13 per cent). For men, the risk was five times greater (18 per cent compared with 3.4 per cent).’’

Around 2.2 million women (23 per cent) and 718,000 men (8 per cent) aged 18 years and over have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, including childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault since the age of 15.

Analysis of Recorded Crime – Victims data revealed that police agencies recorded 144,797
victims of sexual assault between 2014 and 2019. Most victims (83 per cent) were female, and nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) were under the age of 18.

Less than half of recorded sexual assault victims reported the incident to police within a week of the incident occurring.

To read more, click here: ABS Child Sexual Abuse Raises Future Risk of Sexual Assault – Australian Bureau of Statistics