4510.0 - Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2010 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/06/2011   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All
MEDIA RELEASE
23 June 2011
Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
79/2011

More than a quarter of sexual assault victims were aged 10 to 14 years


During 2010 there were 17,757 victims of sexual assault recorded by police, 25% of these victims aged 10 to 14 years, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The majority of all sexual assault victims were female (85%). Females were also more likely to be victims of kidnapping/abduction than males (58%). Males were more likely to be victims of homicide & related offences than females (62%). This was also the case for robbery (65%) and blackmail/extortion (65%). Female victims of sexual assault aged 15–19 had the highest victimisation rate of any age group, at a rate more than seven times the overall rate for sexual assault.

Of the selected personal offences, weapons were mainly used in the commission of murders, attempted murders, and robberies. A knife was the most commonly used weapon in committing these offences: 33% of murder victims, 28% of attempted murder victims, and 18% of robbery victims were subjected to an offence involving a knife.

Most instances of murder, attempted murder and sexual assault took place in private dwellings (murder 59%; attempted murder 57%; sexual assault 60%). Community locations were the most common venue for kidnapping/abduction (55%) and robbery (59%).

Males aged 15–19 had the highest victimisation rate for robbery, more than five times the overall victimisation rate for robbery (56 victims per 100,000). Among females the victimisation rate for robbery was highest for those aged 15–19 and 20–24.

More information on recorded crimes in Australia, can be found in Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia (cat. no. 4510.0)

Media notes:

  • The national victimisation rate for sexual assault for 2010 was 79.5 victims per 100,000 population
  • This publication presents national crime statistics relating to victims of a selected range of personal and property offences that have been recorded by police during 2010. The 2010 publication marks the first year in a break in series for the collection; therefore comparisons should not be made between data in this publication and previously published victims data.
  • A victim for the purpose of this publication is defined by the type of offence committed, this can be a person, a premises, an organisation or a motor vehicle. The publication gives counts of victims for selected offences that came to the attention of police and were recorded by them during the reference period. While the definition includes non-person victims, victimisation rates are only presented for person victims.
  • Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) as the source.