Sexual assault statistics for offenders proceeded against by police, criminal court outcomes for defendants, and prisoners in adult custody.
On 2 February, 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the third article in their new series exploring the nature and prevalence of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment in Australia. The first article, Sexual Violence – Victimisation, focused on the experiences of sexual assault and sexual abuse victims. The second article, Sexual Harassment, focused on the prevalence and characteristics of sexual harassment.
This third article examines the characteristics of sexual assault perpetrators and their outcomes in the criminal justice system. It brings together data collected through the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Recorded Crime – Offenders, the Criminal Courts, and the Prisoners in Australia statistical collections.
Within all three collections, sexual assault is defined as physical contact, or intent of contact, of a sexual nature directed towards another person where that person does not give consent, gives consent as a result of intimidation or deception, or consent is proscribed (i.e. the person is legally deemed incapable of giving consent because of youth, temporary/permanent (mental) incapacity or there is a familial relationship).