Sexual Assault Awareness Month
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) an important time to recognise the prevalence of sexual violence in our community and renew our commitment to preventing harm and supporting victim-survivors.
Sexual violence remains widespread in Western Australia, yet the systems designed to respond to victim-survivors are under-resourced and unevenly distributed across the State, while some regions have zero support services available to victim-survivors. While reports of sexual assault have increased significantly in recent years, specialist sexual assault services have not received the investment needed to meet growing demand.
This Sexual Assault Awareness Month we are highlighting both the scale of sexual violence and the urgent need for stronger systems for victim-survivors.
Key statistics:
- Sexual violence is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men with 97% of sexual offenders in Australia being male.
- 23% of women in Western Australia aged 15 and over will experience sexual assault at least once in their lifetime.
- 28.5% of Australians have experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18.
- 91% of sexual assaults are never reported, meaning official statistics capture only a fraction of the harm experienced in our community.
- Reports of sexual assault to WA Police have increased by more than 34% since 2017, yet funding for specialist services has remained largely unchanged.
- Across regional Western Australia, just $2 million per year funds five specialist services employing only 12 FTE staff, leaving many victim-survivors without access to specialist care.
What is sexual violence?
Sexual violence encompasses a continuum of behaviours and harms that includes any behaviour of a sexual nature that makes someone feel uncomfortable, frightened, intimidated, or threatened. The concept of the “continuum of sexual violence” recognises the connection between different forms of sexual violence, and how these different forms cannot be readily distinguished from one another. Many experiences of sexual violence occur in everyday settings and within relationships (both intimate partner and intra-familial), and these harms are connected by a broader social context that normalise, minimise and enable sexual violence.
This includes:
- Sexual harassment and unwanted sexual comments
- Unwanted touching or sexual advances
- Sexual coercion or pressure
- Image-based abuse and online sexual harassment
- Sexual assault and rape
All sexual violence is an abuse of power and understands gender inequality to be the most important determinant of that abuse, whether the victim-survivor (or indeed perpetrator) is male or female. It understands sexual violence happens in a social context rather than being purely about individual perpetration.
Access to specialist support
Sexual violence is a life altering experience which can cause a range impacts. Many victim-survivors will experience profound psychological and physical health burdens. However, the consequences of rape and its causes, also have cultural, social, and structural dimensions and must be understand beyond the medicalised trauma model.
Specialist sexual assault services play a critical role in supporting victim-survivors through recovery and, where desired, through justice processes.
However, services across Western Australia face significant funding constraints and workforce shortages, particularly in regional and remote communities. Victim-survivors outside metropolitan Perth often face limited or non-existent access to specialist services and forensic medical examinations, creating major inequities in the system. Ensuring equitable access across the State requires investment in regional services, workforce development, and integrated forensic medical care.
What needs to change
Our vision
We envision a Western Australia where every victim-survivor has timely access fully funded, specialist sexual assault services.
In this vision:
- Specialist sexual violence services are available to all victim-survivors across WA
- Forensic and medical care are integrated into sexual assault responses
- Outreach is explicitly funded to connect with regional and remote areas
- Police, health and community services work together to support victim-survivors
- Prevention efforts challenge the conducive contexts that drive sexual violence
Sexual violence is preventable. With sustained investment and leadership, Western Australia can build a system that supports victim-survivors, holds perpetrators accountable, and prevents violence before it occurs.
WA sexual assault support services:
Anyone who experiences sexual violence is entitled to support, and legal and medical assistance. There are several Sexual Assault Support Services throughout regional Western Australia and a centralised Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) in Perth. These services provide support to people of all genders over the age of 13 who have experienced current, recent or past sexual abuse or assault.
To find a service near you follow this link: www.cwsw.org.au/directory/sexual-assault-support-services/.
For immediate help and support please contact 1800 Respect (1800 737 732).
