The Me Too Movement began in the United States around 2006 and in 2017 the #meetoo hashtag went viral when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted ‘me too’ in the United States and in Australia journalist Tracy Spicer invited women to tell their story after the Weinstein scandal broke.
However, the female experience in Australia had always been hiding in plain sight from those in authority and ever keenly felt by women & girls who had experienced physical violence and/or sexual assault in the home, in the workplace or in public spaces.
By way of example.
First the murders......
Now the sexual assaults/rapes......
2022
Sexual Assault Reported To Police
According to ABS Recorded Crime – Victims data, in Australia in 2022:
32,100 sexual assaults were recorded, with 5 in 6 (84% or 27,000) perpetrated against females
the rate of sexual assault was higher for females (206 per 100,000), than males (39 per 100,000)
there was significant variation in sexual assault rates between states and territories. ACT had the lowest rate of sexual assaults (71 per 100,000 persons) while NSW had the highest rate (152 per 100,000) (ABS 2023a)..... There was a 43% increase in the rates of police-recorded sexual assault for women between 2010 and 2022.[Australian Government, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 12 April 2024]
2019
Sexual Assault
In 2019 there were 26,892 victims of sexual assault in Australia, an increase of 2% from the previous year. This was the eighth consecutive annual increase and the highest number for this offence recorded in a single year. After accounting for population growth, the victimisation rate has also increased annually over this eight-year period from 83 to 106 victims per 100,000 persons.
For victims of sexual assault in 2019:
- The majority (83%) were female (22,337 victims)
- Around two-thirds (67%) occurred in a residential location (17,395 victims)
- A third were FDV-related (8,985 victims)
- Almost all (95%) did not involve a weapon (25,583 victims)
2000
Summary of Findings
There were 2,804 male and 12,396 female victims of sexual assault. The highest victimisation rates were recorded for males aged 0–14 years and for females aged 15–19 years, with 61% of all victims aged 19 years or younger. Similar proportions of male and female victims knew the offender (64% of male victims and 61% of female victims), and for both sexes approximately one-quarter of all offenders were family members. Almost two-thirds (64%) of all sexual assaults occurred in a residential location and almost all sexual assaults did not involve weapon use (98%). Less than half (41%) of all sexual assault investigations were finalised within 30 days of the offence becoming known to police, and of these 58% resulted in an offender being proceeded against. [ABS, Recorded Crime Australia 2000, 30 May 2001]
1998
Most victims of sexual assault were female (80%). Almost half (47%) were females aged under 20 years. The total number of sexual assaults recorded was 14,568 at a rate of 78 for every 100,000 people. The highest victimisation rates were recorded in the Northern Territory (124 per 100,000 people) and Western Australia (100 per 100,000 people)....The number of victims of sexual assault increased slightly (1.5%), rising from
14,353 victims in 1997 to 14,568 victims in 1998. [ABS, Recorded Crime Australia 1998, 16 June 1999]