The scourge of sexual violence remains regrettably prevalent in Australia, but the number of alleged assaults reported to police does not give the full picture because underreporting is rife.
An online reporting system, which does not involve speaking directly to a police officer and includes an option to remain anonymous, appears to be encouraging some complainants to come forward to NSW Police.
Data obtained exclusively by the Herald shows reports made to the Sexual Assault Reporting Option portal, which allows alleged victims to make a report online and progress with an investigation only if and when they choose to, jumped by 52 per cent in a month, from 317 in March to 485 in April.
There is still work to do for victim-survivors. Sexual assault conviction rates remain low.Credit: Marija Ercecgovac
This increase coincided with a campaign aimed at increasing community awareness of sexual assault reporting options. However, figures remained steady for the rest of the campaign, falling after it ended.
Anecdotally, it appears that more needs to be done to raise awareness of the portal to ensure complainants who are reluctant to speak to police for a range of reasons, including concerns about victim-blaming and fear of the legal system, are aware that this is option is available.
This method does not amount to a formal report to police, but it is a means of making a record of the incident.
Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty, head of the NSW Police sex crimes squad, told the Herald there had been a rise in victim-survivors choosing to revisit their reports and seek legal action or non-legal support services.
Doherty said there had been a three-fold rise in reports since January 2023, when the portal replaced the original online reporting tool. The earlier system had a number of barriers to entry, including a “clunky” PDF format and a requirement that complainants create fake email addresses for anonymity.
She said the highest annual total of reports under the PDF system was in 2022, at just under 1000. In the first year of the new system, the figure increased to “over 3000, almost 4000, reports”, she said, and it had “been pretty consistent”.
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