4510.0 - Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2017 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 28/06/2018   
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VICTIMS OF CRIME, INDIGENOUS STATUS

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 2017.

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 may vary 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 the Explanatory Notes.


HOMICIDE AND RELATED OFFENCES

There were 8 victims of Homicide and related offences recorded in the Northern Territory in 2017, all of whom were identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Between 2016 and 2017 the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Homicide decreased in New South Wales (down 2 victims) and Queensland (down 2 victims) to 3 and 7 victims, respectively.

The number of victims recorded in South Australia increased over the same reference period, from 6 victims to 8 victims in 2017, which represented a rate of 19 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons. This was the highest rate for this offence across the selected jurisdictions. (Table 16)


ASSAULT

Since the beginning of the time series in 2010, the Assault victimisation rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims:
  • Decreased in New South Wales by 584 victims to 1,821 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander persons in 2017
  • Increased in South Australia by 15 victims to 4,806 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander persons in 2017
  • Increased in the Northern Territory by 500 victims to 7,084 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander persons in 2017

Graph Image for ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER VICTIMS OF ASSAULT, Victimisation rate(a)(b)

Footnote(s): (a) Rate per 100,000 persons for the state/territory and Indigenous status of interest (see Explanatory Notes). (b) Selected states and territories.

Source(s): Recorded Crime - Victims


Over the same reference period the victimisation rate for non-Indigenous victims decreased across the selected jurisdictions, the largest of which occurred in New South Wales which has decreased by 285 victims per 100,000 persons since the beginning of the time series in 2010.

In 2017, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons were more likely to be the victim of Assault than non-Indigenous persons by a ratio of:
  • 2.8 in New South Wales (1,821 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 650 victims per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)
  • 5.9 in South Australia (4,806 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 810 victims per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons)
  • 6.4 in the Northern Territory (7,084 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons compared to 1,104 victims per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons) (Table 16)

Sex and age

Females who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for a higher proportion of victims of Assault compared to males in each of these states and territories:
  • 2,768 females (65%) compared to 1,508 males in New South Wales
  • 1,492 females (73%) compared to 545 males in South Australia
  • 4,045 females (75%) compared to 1,323 males in the Northern Territory

In 2017, the most prevalent age group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Assault across these jurisdictions was between 25 and 34 years in New South Wales (25% or 1,071 victims), South Australia (31% or 622 victims) and the Northern Territory (32% or 1,701 victims). (Table 17)

Relationship of offender to victim

The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Assault victims knew the offender with:
  • 89% or 3,781 victims in New South Wales
  • 88% or 1,801 victims in South Australia
  • 84% or 4,519 victims in the Northern Territory

In New South Wales, over half (53%) of victims identified the offender as a family member (2,250 victims). Family member includes partners, children, siblings, boyfriends/girlfriends and other related family members.

Female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims accounted for just over three-quarters (76%) of those victimised by a family member in New South Wales (1,702 victims). Male victims accounted for the majority (64%) of victims assaulted by a stranger in 2017 (216 male victims compared to 118 females).

South Australia had the highest proportion of victims (14%) who identified the offender as an ex-partner (283 victims) and the highest proportion (10%) of offenders identified as a stranger (205 victims). Males accounted for more than half (55%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims assaulted by a stranger (112 victims) in South Australia.

Close to half (45%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims in the Northern Territory identified the offender as a partner (2,389 victims), which was the highest proportion across the selected jurisdictions. Female victims accounted for the majority of those assaulted by a partner in the Northern Territory (87% or 2,089 victims). Partner includes de facto, spouse and boyfriend/girlfriend. (Table 18)

Location where offence occurred

In both New South Wales and South Australia, assaults on Aboriginal and Torres Islander victims occurred most frequently (65%) at a residential location (2,783 victims in New South Wales and 1,333 victims in South Australia).

In the Northern Territory over a third (34%) occurred at a residential location, with the majority (51%) occurring at a community location (2,750 victims). Community location includes Educational facilities, health facilities, transport facilities, streets/footpaths, etc. For a full list of location inclusions see Glossary. (Table 17)


SEXUAL ASSAULT

From the beginning of the time series in 2010 to 2017, the Sexual assault victimisation rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims:
  • Increased in New South Wales by 59 victims to 348 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons
  • Decreased in Queensland by 7 victims to 255 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons
  • Decreased in South Australia by 71 victims to 203 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons
  • Increased in the Northern Territory by 44 victims to 270 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons

Over the same reference period the victimisation rate for non-Indigenous victims increased across these jurisdictions, the largest of which occurred in New South Wales (up 15 victims to 102 victims per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons) and Queensland (up 13 victims to 84 victims per 100,000 non-Indigenous persons). (Table 16)

Sex and age

In 2017, female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Sexual assault accounted for a higher proportion of victims than males:
  • 3.4 times more in New South Wales (626 female victims compared to 182 males)
  • 4.6 times more in Queensland (459 female victims compared to 99 males)
  • 7.9 times more in South Australia (71 female victims compared to 9 males)
  • 8.3 times more in the Northern Territory (183 female victims compared to 22 males) (Table 20)

Graph Image for ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, Proportion(a), 2017

Footnote(s): (a) Proportion by sex and selected states and territories

Source(s): Recorded Crime – Victims


In New South Wales and Queensland, victims aged between 10 and 14 years accounted for the highest proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Sexual assault by age group (34% or 273 victims in New South Wales and 33% or 182 victims in Queensland). In South Australia and the Northern Territory victims aged between 15 and 19 years accounted for the highest proportion (45% or 39 victims in South Australia and 21% or 43 victims in the Northern Territory). (Table 19)

Relationship of offender to victim

The majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Sexual assault in each of these states and territories knew the offender in 2017:
  • 84% or 684 victims in New South Wales
  • 73% or 405 victims in Queensland
  • 76% or 65 victims in South Australia
  • 67% or 137 victims in the Northern Territory

In New South Wales over a third (36%) of victims identified the offender as a family member (292 victims). A quarter (25%) of male victims identified the offender as an other family member (46 victims) compared with 20% of all female victims. Other family member includes relationship types where the offender is known and related to the victim but is not a partner or parent. This includes child, sibling, grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, nephews, etc. For a full list of inclusions see Glossary.

In Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females accounted for 81% of all victims who knew the offender (329 victims). Nearly half (49%) of these victims identified the offender as an other non-family member (160 victims).

Queensland had the highest proportion (25%) of victims sexually assaulted by a stranger (139 victims), across the selected jurisdictions.

In South Australia almost half (47%) of victims sexually assaulted by a family member reported a parent as the offender (15 victims), while a further 41% reported a partner as the offender (13 victims).

In the Northern Territory, over a third (38%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims identified the offender as a family member (77 victims), 46% of which were an other family member (35 victims).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander female victims of Sexual assault in the Northern Territory accounted for the highest proportion (90%) of female victims across the selected jurisdictions (183 victims). (Table 20)


ROBBERY

Between 2016 and 2017, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Robbery victims recorded in Queensland more than doubled, from 32 victims to 66 victims.

For the other states and territories the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Robbery:
  • Decreased by 9 victims in New South Wales to 37 victims, which was the lowest number of victims since the beginning of the time series in 2010
  • Decreased by 3 victims to 15 victims in South Australia
  • Remained relatively stable in the Northern Territory, increasing from 10 victims to 11 victims in 2017

Since the beginning of the time series in 2010, the victimisation rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Robbery victims decreased across the selected jurisdictions except for Queensland.

In 2017, the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims of Robberies were Unarmed across the selected jurisdictions. Queensland accounted for the largest number of victims for this offence (40 victims). (Table 16)