National sexual violence responses

ABS Criminal Courts – Australia

Frequency: Yearly

Methodology: Administrative dataset

Geography: National

Description

The ABS Criminal Courts, Australia presents information on the characteristics of defendants finalised by Australian state and territory criminal courts. This includes information on the offences, case outcomes and sentences associated with those defendants.

ABS Personal Safety Survey (PSS)

Frequency: Every 4 years

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The PSS collects information from women and men aged 18 and over about the nature and extent of violence experienced since the age of 15. Over 5,000 men and 15,000 women were included in the 2016 survey. The scope of the 2016 survey was persons aged 18 and over in private dwellings across Australia (excluding very remote areas). Interviews were conducted with one randomly selected person aged 18 or over. In this collection, data relating to sex is based on a survey where respondents were asked to identify household members as ‘male’ or ‘female’. If someone identified as a transgender or intersex person, the interviewer was instructed to ask the respondent to identify which sex the household member most closely identified as. If this could not be provided, the interviewer selected either male or female (alternating between them as they occurred).

ABS Recorded Crime – Offenders

Frequency: Yearly

Methodology: Administrative data

Geography: National

Description

ABS Recorded Crime – Offenders presents statistics about the characteristics of alleged offenders who were proceeded against by police during a 12-month reference period. The collection provides a profile of alleged offenders, including their age, sex, Indigenous status, principal offence, how often they have been proceeded against by police within the reference period, as well as a count of proceedings that may result in court or non-court actions.

The categories used for defendant sex are: male, female, organisations, other and unknown. The number of defendants in the category of ‘other’ is currently not published due to small numbers and inconsistent use, though these defendants are included within the total.

ABS Recorded Crime – Victims

Frequency: Yearly

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

ABS Recorded Crime – Victims presents statistics about victims of selected offences that came to the attention of, and were recorded by police during a 12-month reference period. Selected characteristics about the victim (including sex and age) or incident (including weapon use and location) are also presented, as well as the outcome of the police investigation at 30 days from the time of report. Information about the relationship of the offender to the victim and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status of the victim is also presented for selected states and territories.

In this collection, data relating to sex is based on the details recorded by police for operational purposes and is not always recorded. Where the victim is a person, sex is recorded as ‘male’, ‘female’ or ‘Not stated/inadequately described’.

AIFS Elder Abuse Prevalence Study

Frequency: One-off

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The Elder Abuse Prevalence Study involved a survey of 7,000 people aged 65 and over who live in the community (i.e. those who are not in residential aged care settings) and had cognitive capacity to complete the survey. The survey examined experiences of elder abuse among this population. The study also included a survey of 3,400 people aged 18–64 years which focussed on knowledge of elder abuse, attitudes to older people and the extent to which participants in the survey provided assistance to older people.

AIHW Child Protection National Minimum Data Set (CP NMDS)

Frequency: Yearly

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

The CP NMDS contains information on the demographics of children and young people who receive child protection services, including:

• notifications received by child protection departments
• care and protection orders
• out-of-home care placements.

Data for this collection are from the administrative systems of each of the eight state and territory departments responsible for child protection (with aggregate data provided by NSW).

In this data collection, sex is recorded as ‘Male’, ‘Female’, ‘Intersex or indeterminate’ or ‘Not stated/inadequately described’. However, for reporting purposes, the terms ‘Boys’ and ‘Girls’ are used.

AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD)

Frequency: Yearly

Methodology: Administrative data set

Geography: National

Description

The NHMD is a collection of episode-level records from admitted patient morbidity data collection systems in Australian hospitals. It is a comprehensive data set that has records for all episodes of admitted patient care from essentially all public and private hospitals in Australia.

A record is included for each separation, not for each patient, so patients who separated more than once in the year have more than one record in the NHMD.

In this collection, data relating to sex is based on hospital admissions records. Patients’ sex was recorded as ‘male’, ‘female’ or ‘other’.

AHRC National Survey on Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces

Frequency: 2003, 2008, 2012, 2018

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The 2018 National Survey was conducted both online and by telephone with a sample of over 10,000 Australians. The survey measured people’s experiences of sexual harassment over the course of their lifetimes. Anyone who had been in the workforce at any time in the last five years was also asked about their experience of sexual harassment in their workplace at any time in the last five years and within the last 12 months. The survey informed the AHRC’s National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces.

Australian Child Maltreatment Study

Frequency: One off

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The Australian Child Maltreatment Study was conducted in 2020 and 2021. The sample included around 8500 Australians, including 3500 young people aged 16-24. Participants were contacted randomly via telephone using Random Digit Dial. Participants were asked about their historical childhood exposure to five types of maltreatment. Results from the survey are forthcoming.

Image-based Abuse National Survey

Frequency: One off

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The Image-based Abuse National Survey was conducted in May 2017, with a total sample of 4,122, including a boost sample of 200 women aged 15 to 45 who had experienced image-based abuse. Participants were recruited via two sample frames: the Social Research Centre’s Life in Australia probability-based online panel and a non-probability online panel.

Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces

Frequency: One off

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The survey was conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission. It included an anonymous online survey of 935 people currently working in Commonwealth parliamentary workplaces.

Kids Helpline

Frequency: Ongoing

Methodology: Administrative dataset

Geography: National

Description

Kids Helpline is a free national helpline that provides support and counselling for children and young people aged 5 to 25 years. Data are collected on the number of contacts provided with counselling, and the issues they received counselling for.

National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS)

Frequency: Every 4 years

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The NCAS is a survey of over 17,500 Australians aged 16 years and over about their:

• knowledge of violence against women;
• attitudes towards gender equality;
• attitudes towards violence against women; and
• intentions should they witness (or be bystanders to) abuse or disrespect towards women.

The questionnaire was initially developed on behalf of the Australian Government in 1995. The NCAS has been repeated every four years since 2009. The NCAS sample were randomly selected from across Australia.

In this collection, data relating to gender is based on a survey where respondents were asked what gender they identify with and responses were recorded as either ‘male’, ‘female’, ‘other’, or ‘chose not to answer’.

National Student Safety Survey (NSSS)

Frequency: One off

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The NSSS is a survey of 43,819 university students from 38 Universities Australia member institutions. Students took part in the survey between September and November 2021. The survey collected data on the scale and nature of university student experiences of sexual harassment and sexual assault. The sampling frames for the NSSS were the student administration databases held by each university.

The 2021 survey built on and extended the first survey on sexual harassment and sexual assault conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission in 2016. It was funded by Universities Australia.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) during the COVID-19 pandemic

Frequency: One off

Methodology: Survey

Geography: National

Description

The survey was conducted between February and April 2021. The survey used non-probability sampling and was conducted online. It sampled 10,107 women aged 18 and over who had been in a relationship in the 12 months prior to the survey. Respondents were asked about their experiences of intimate partner violence in the last 12 months, as well as their experience of prior IPV.