Sexual assaults of young women the ‘largest increase’ recorded during past year: ABS report

By DANIEL LO SURDO

The rate of sexual assault for women aged 18 to 29 years surged during the past year, according to a new survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which also found that the rate of sexual assault for women aged 18 years and older almost doubled between 2008 and 2021.

The 2020/21 Crime Victimisation Survey found that the rate of sexual assault for women aged 18 to 29 years rose from 1.2 per cent in 2019/20 to 3.3 per cent in 2020/21. According to William Milne, the ABS Director of the National Centre of Crime and Justice Statistics, this was the largest increase recorded from the survey in the last year.

The figures, which were released this week, come as the March4Justice protests against gendered violence are being readied to take place across Australia on Sunday, despite marches in the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) being curtailed following COVID-19 concerns.

Organisers have said that the marches are “committed to providing a safe space for all women and allies to be heard”, adding that the “only people who are not welcome to join March4Justice events are those who do not wish to embrace the values of inclusion”.

March4Justice will campaign for four key goals tomorrow: to conduct full independent investigations into all cases of gendered violence and for timely referrals to appropriate authorities; to implement all 55 recommendations made in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work report; lift public funding for gendered violence, and enact a federal Gender Equality Act and provide a gender equity audit of parliamentary practices.

In March last year, over 110,000 people attended over 200 events and protests across Australia during the March4Justice rallies to protest gendered violence.

The protests took place after former Liberal party staffer Brittany Higgins alleged that she was raped at Parliament House in March 2019, which sparked outrage throughout the country and renewed calls for greater protections against gendered violence in the workplace.

Following concerns during the wake of the most recent Omicron outbreak in Sydney, organisers said that a march in the CBD couldn’t “happen in the way that it deserves to happen”.

“A lot of people are wary of large public gatherings,” March4Justice organisers said. “Resources are stretched and we couldn’t make it happen in the way that it deserves to happen, keep you safe and get clearance from authorities.”

Public events

According to the March4Justice map, private events and rallies will be held throughout Sydney’s eastern suburbs, inner-city and inner west. Public events will be held in Bega on NSW’s South Coast and in Albury-Wodonga, near the NSW-Victoria border.