Incidents of sexual assault may be reported to police. Examining crime rates for sexual assault makes it possible to compare how often police are engaged in response to incidents of sexual assault over time and across different population groups in the Australian community. Data on crime rates for sexual assault in Australia are drawn from the ABS Recorded Crime - Victims collection, which is based on crimes reported to police in each state and territory.
The visualisation below allows users to explore the number and rate of sexual assaults recorded by police per 100,000 people since 2010, by sex of victim and the state and territory the sexual assault was recorded, over time. Between 2010 and 2021, sexual assault victimisation rates were consistently higher for females compared to males. During this time the victimisation rate for sexual assault for females increased by 43% from 143.8 to 205.4 per 100,000 females with a 15% increase between 2020 and 2021. Rates also increased by 31% for males between 2010 and 2021 from 26.1 to 34.1 per 100,000. This increase is generally consistent across jurisdictions, although the rate and pattern of increase varied. Changes in crime rates may be due to changes in reporting behaviour, increased awareness about forms of violence, changes to police practices, and/or an increase in incidents.