Sexual assault: are shifting attitudes and ‘being believed’ encouraging survivors to report?
In 2020 the ABC published their special report Rough justice: How police are failing survivors of sexual assault. It referenced that in Australia, only 1 in 10 reports of sexual assault to Police have led to legal action.
Yet, in Australia it is estimated that 1 in 5 women have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Additionally, it is widely acknowledged that there is widespread under-reporting of sexual assault.
The mis-match is huge.
Compare the the number of women who have been sexually assaulted (1 in 5), to the number who choose to report it to Police (over 140,000 in a 10-year period), to the number of Police reports that actually lead to legal action (1 in 10). This is then compounded by the low conviction rates (1 in 100).
It is a bleak picture of both our justice system and our community more broadly. Sexual assault is in many ways, unspoken and disbelieved.
However, recent data shows there is potentially a change occurring. It points to higher reporting and, at a community level, higher rates of believing.
In March 2021, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics Executive Director Jackie Fitgerald stated that there was a 61% surge in women reporting sexual assaults to Police. Is the spike in reporting indicative of an overall increase in sexual assault with the reporting levels remaining the same? Or are community attitudes towards women reporting sexual assault changing?
In 2021, Grace Tame, a survivor of sexual assault was named Australian of the Year. This year Brittany Higgins spoke out about her sexual assault at Parliament House, and the lack of action when she initially reported. Chanel Contos revealed her sexual assault while at high school - her website encouraging other women to recount their stories of sexual assault while at high school went viral. Today more than 6,000 testimonies have been recorded. Women, girls, men and boys around Australia rallied in the Women’s March 4 Justice. The visibility of sexual assault of women in our community is on the up.
Now there is finally evidence that, at a community level, there are higher rates of believing. Last week the ABC 2021 Australia Talks National Survey revealed that 55% of participants now agree that allegations of sexual assault are ‘almost always true’.
However, there is a clear gender divide in the opinions of participants. Only 40% of male-identifying participants agreed that allegations of sexual assault by women are ‘almost always true’ compared to 69% of female-identifying participants.
It is unsurprising, yet depressing, to note the gender correlation. Flipped the other way 60% of men in Australia do not believe that women are truthfully reporting sexual assault. Wow.
There is some hope. This figure has changed. In 2019 only 28% of Australian men thought women’s allegations of sexual assault were ‘almost always true’. In the past 2 years this has increased by a whopping 12%.
Have the actions of survivors speaking out had an impact on attitudes in our community and the likelihood of women to report?
At Violet Co we are supporting women to report. We are building our capacity to assist survivors of sexual assault to understand the options they have for telling their story or stories; of making a report in a supported, trauma-informed, way. If you would like to get involved in this work please reach out.
Community attitudes and the attitudes of Police are often the first hurdles that women face when contemplating whether or not to talk about their assault. To change this picture we can all play a part. Reforming the justice system, the Police, the process and the courts, are essential. So too is ensuring that the supports for women who have been sexually assaulted are properly funded. With all of this - believing women is the first step.
#ibelieveher #march4justice
Photo by Stewart Munro of the March4Justice rally in Brisbane 2021. https://unsplash.com/@stewartmunro