Canberra, Jan 30 – Australia has recorded 40 per cent rise in sexual assault cases since 2013, a government report said.
In an annual report published on Monday, the federal government’s principal review body, the Productivity Commission, said that 123.7 out of every 100,000 Australians reported being sexually assaulted to police in 2022, an increase of 42.8 percent from 86.6 out of every 100,000 people in 2013, Xinhua news agency reported.
The highest numbers of such cases were reported from New South Wales, the largest of Australia’s states and territories, with 152.2 out of every 100,000 people having made complaints to police in the state in 2022, more than double the 71.2 out of every 100,000 people in the Australian Capital Territory.
The national rate of armed robbery reports fell from 24.3 out of every 100,000 people in 2013 to 18.1 in 2022, and homicide rate fell slightly from 1.9 victims per 100,000 people to 1.6 in the same period, the report said.
Mark Dreyfus, Australia’s attorney-general, said the inquiry would look into how the government can improve the justice system experiences of victims and survivors of sexual assault.
In January, the federal government announced an Australian Law Reform Commission review into justice system responses to sexual violence.
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