VICTIMS OF CRIME, ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER VICTIMS

This chapter presents statistics about the Indigenous status of victims for New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Based on an ABS assessment, Indigenous status data for other states and territories are not of sufficient quality and/or do not meet ABS standards for national reporting in 2015.

The data in this section are drawn from the Data Cube titled ‘Victims of Crime, Indigenous status, selected states and territories’, tables 16 to 21.

For the data presented here, there remained a small proportion of victims whose Indigenous status was "not stated/unknown". The proportion of unknown Indigenous status for person offences varied by offence type and from year to year. For this reason, caution should be exercised when interpreting movements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data. For further information, refer to paragraphs 22-24 and 34-37 of the Explanatory Notes.


NEW SOUTH WALES

Assault

There were 65,140 victims of Assault in New South Wales in 2015. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims accounted for 8% of the total Assault victims and increased by 18% (or 839 victims) from 4,696 in 2014 to 5,535 victims. (Table 16)

Females accounted for the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Assault victims (65%). In contrast, males accounted for the majority of non-Indigenous Assault victims (55%). The most prevalent age for Assault was 25-34 for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and non-Indigenous victims. (Table 20)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had more than three times the victimisation rate for Assault compared to non-Indigenous people (2,456 victims per 100,000 persons compared with 729 victims per 100,000 people). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a higher victimisation rate for Assault across all age groups. (Table 20)



The majority (88%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Assault victims knew the offender, in comparison two-thirds (66%) of non-Indigenous victims knew the offender. The proportion who were victimised by a family member was also higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims. Just over half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Assault victims were assaulted by a family member (52%), while for non-Indigenous persons that proportion was approximately one third (34%). (Table 21)

Sexual assault

The number of victims of Sexual Assault and related offences in New South Wales increased by 5% from 8,192 to 8,603 victims in 2015. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims accounted for 8% of Sexual Assault victims. (Table 16)

The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims (81%), and just over three quarters (77%) of non-Indigenous victims knew the offender. Three quarters (74%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and over half (56%) of non-Indigenous victims were victimised at a ‘residential’ location. The most prevalent age for Sexual Assault was 10-14 year olds for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims (30%) and 15-19 for non-Indigenous victims (24%). (Tables 17 &18)

Other offences

In New South Wales during 2015, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victimisation rate was higher than the non-Indigenous victimisation rate for the following other offences:

• Homicide and related offences (1.8 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 1.3 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)
• Kidnapping and related offences (8.9 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 2.9 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)

However there were small numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims for both of these offence groups (4 victims of Homicide and 20 victims of Kidnapping/abduction). The offence groups with the highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims were: Assault, Sexual Assault and Kidnapping (all with 8%). (Tables 16 & 30)


QUEENSLAND

Sexual assault

The number of Sexual assault victims in Queensland increased by 3% to 4,199 victims in 2015, from 4,063 victims in 2014. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for 11% of Sexual Assault victims in Queensland. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were over three times more likely to be the victim of Sexual Assault than non-Indigenous people, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victimisation rate was 226 per 100,000 people compared with the non-Indigenous rate of 69 per 100,000 people. (Table 16)

Females represented the majority of Sexual assault victims for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people. Females accounted for 81% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and 84% of non-Indigenous victims. (Table 17)

The offender was known to the victim for approximately three quarters of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous victims. Over one third of both populations identified a family member as the offender – 39% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and 34% for non-Indigenous victims. (Table 17)

The most prevalent age for Sexual assault victims was 10-14 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims. This represented just under a third (30%) of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Sexual assault. For non-Indigenous victims, the most prevalent age was 15-19 years, representing over a quarter (28%) of all non-Indigenous victims. (Table 18)

The most prevalent location of victimisation for both groups was ‘residential’, representing 72% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and 71% of non-Indigenous victims. (Table 18)



Other offences

In Queensland during 2015, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victimisation rate was higher than the non-Indigenous victimisation rate for the following other offences:

• Homicide and related offences (1.4 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 1.2 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)
• Kidnapping and related offences (1.9 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 0.4 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)

However there were small numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims for both of these offence groups (3 victims of Homicide and 4 victims of Kidnapping/abduction). The victimisation rate was equal for Robbery at 17 victims per 100,000 people for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people.

The offence group with the highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims was Kidnapping/abduction, with 14%. (Tables 16 & 30)


SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Assault

The number of victims of Assault in South Australia increased for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (up 14% from 1,937 victims in 2014 to 2,199 in 2015) and non-Indigenous people (up 7% from 13,643 to 14,550). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a higher victimisation rate than non-Indigenous people in 2015 (5,410 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 878 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons). (Table 16)

The Assault victimisation rate per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons was more than twice as high for females (7,780) as for males (3,011) (Table 20). Female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Assault were also more likely to be assaulted by a family member than their non-Indigenous counterparts (63% compared to 44%). A larger proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Assault victims in South Australia identified a partner as the offender than non-Indigenous Assault victims (36% compared to 17%), but a smaller proportion identified a stranger (10% compared to 31%). (Table 21)



Sexual assault

The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Sexual assault in South Australia decreased from 131 in 2014 to 121 in 2015, while the number of non-Indigenous victims increased by 3% over the same period (from 1,378 Sexual assault victims to 1,413). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a higher victimisation rate for Sexual assault than non-Indigenous people (298 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 85 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons). (Table 16)

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sexual assault victims who identified a family member as the offender was higher than the proportion of non-Indigenous victims (48% or 58 victims compared to 31% or 434 victims). (Table 17)

Other offences

In South Australia during 2015, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victimisation rate was higher than the non-Indigenous victimisation rate for the following other offences.

• Homicide and related offences (17 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 1 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)
• Kidnapping and related offences (22 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 4 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)
• Robbery (37 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 26 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)
  

However there were small numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims for each of these offence groups (7 victims of Homicide, 15 victims of Robbery and 9 victims of Kidnapping/abduction). The offence group with the highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims was Homicide, with 20%.


NORTHERN TERRITORY

Assault

The number of Assault victims in the Northern Territory decreased in 2015, down by 4% from 7,251 victims in 2014 to 6,953. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for over two thirds (67%) of victims. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Assault decreased by 134 (3%) in 2015, while non-Indigenous victims decreased by 238 (11%). (Table 16)

In the Northern Territory, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were over five times more likely to be the victim of Assault than non-Indigenous people. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victimisation rate per 100,000 people was 6,355 compared to the non-Indigenous rate at 1,108 per 100,000 people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a higher victimisation rate for Assault across all age groups. (Tables 16 & 20)



Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had a higher proportion of female victims (77%) than non-Indigenous people (36%). (Table 20)

Half of non-Indigenous Assault victims knew the offender, compared to 86% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Assault victims. For non-Indigenous victims 16% were assaulted by a family member, while for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims, two thirds (66%) were assaulted by a family member. (Table 21)

Sexual assault

The number of victims of Sexual assault in the Northern Territory decreased slightly from 401 victims in 2014 to 391 in 2015. The Northern Territory had the highest victimisation rate for sexual assault of all states and territories at 160 victims per 100,000 people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims accounted for nearly half (46%) of the victims. (Table 16)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were nearly two and a half times more likely to be a victim of Sexual assault than non-Indigenous people, with a victimisation rate of 244 per 100,000 people compared with 101 per 100,000 non-Indigenous people. (Table 16)

Females accounted for the majority of Sexual assault victims, representing 91% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and 90% of non-Indigenous victims, making females nine times more likely to be a victim of Sexual assault than males. (Table 17)

The most prevalent age for Sexual assault was 10-14 year olds for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and 15-19 year olds for non-Indigenous people. (Table 18)

The offender was known to the victim for over two thirds (69%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and over half (54%) of non-Indigenous victims. The offender was a family member for 31% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and 13% of non-Indigenous victims. (Table 17)

Other offences

In the Northern Territory during 2015, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victimisation rate was higher than the non-Indigenous victimisation rate for Homicide and related offences (12 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 4 victims per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons). However the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victimisation rate was lower than the non-Indigenous victimisation rate for Robbery (11 per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 58 per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons).

However there were small numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims for both of these offence groups (9 victims of Homicide and 8 victims of Robbery). The offence group with the highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims was Assault, with 67%. (Tables 16 & 30)