Sexual Assault in NSW: Recorded Incidents and Victims, July 2015 to June 2025

Sexual Assault in NSW: Recorded Incidents and Victims, July 2015 to June 2025 (Published: September 2025)

1. Overview and Long-Term Trends in Recorded Sexual Assault Incidents

• In $2024/25$, a total of $12,337$ sexual assault incidents were recorded by NSW Police.

• Long-term Trends (to June 2025):

  • 2-year trend: Up $8.8\%$

  • 10-year trend: Up $10.0\%$ (annual average % change)

• Annual Recorded Incident Numbers and Rates (per $100,000$ population):

  • Jul $2015$ - Jun $2016$: $5,237$ incidents ($68.8$ rate)

  • Jul $2016$ - Jun $2017$: $5,687$ incidents ($73.5$ rate)

  • Jul $2017$ - Jun $2018$: $6,121$ incidents ($77.8$ rate)

  • Jul $2018$ - Jun $2019$: $5,902$ incidents ($74.0$ rate)

  • Jul $2019$ - Jun $2020$: $6,573$ incidents ($81.3$ rate)

  • Jul $2020$ - Jun $2021$: $8,283$ incidents ($102.3$ rate)

  • Jul $2021$ - Jun $2022$: $8,177$ incidents ($101.0$ rate)

  • Jul $2022$ - Jun $2023$: $9,530$ incidents ($116.7$ rate)

  • Jul $2023$ - Jun $2024$: $11,334$ incidents ($135.9$ rate)

  • Jul $2024$ - Jun $2025$: $12,337$ incidents ($147.9$ rate)

2. Type of Recorded Sexual Assault Incidents

• Adult Sexual Assault (victim $16+$ years):

  • Comprises $44\%$ of all sexual assault incidents.

  • $10$-year trend: Up $11\%$ per year.

  • Incident count trend (Jul $2015$ - Jun $2016$ to Jul $2024$ - Jun $2025$) shows an increase from approximately $2,096$ to $5,434$.

• Contemporary Child Sexual Assault (victim under $16$ at incident and reporting):

  • Comprises $23\%$ of all sexual assault incidents.

  • $10$-year trend: Up $4\%$ per year.

  • Incident count trend (Jul $2015$ - Jun $2016$ to Jul $2024$ - Jun $2025$) shows an increase from approximately $2,083$ to $2,888$.

• Historical Child Sexual Assault (victim under $16$ at incident, but $16+$ at reporting):

  • Comprises $33\%$ of all sexual assault incidents.

  • $10$-year trend: Up $16\%$ per year.

  • Incident count trend (Jul $2015$ - Jun $2016$ to Jul $2024$ - Jun $2025$) shows an increase from approximately $1,058$ to $4,015$.

3. Pathways of Reporting to Police and Legal Action

3.1 Trends in Reporting Pathways (10 years to June 2025)

• $45\%$ of the increase in sexual assault incidents was driven by reports made directly to Police.

• $39\%$ of the increase was driven by SARO (Sexual Assault Reporting Option) reports.

  • Note: SARO allowed online reporting from January $2023$.

• $16\%$ of the increase was driven by reports to the Child Protection Helpline (including mandatory reports).

3.2 Reporting Method Distribution $(2024/25)$

• Reported Directly to Police: $6,757$ incidents ($55\%$ of total).

• Reported via Child Protection Helpline: $2,691$ incidents ($22\%$ of total).

• Reported via SARO: $2,889$ incidents ($23\%$ of total).

3.3 Usage of Reporting Pathways by Incident Type $(2024/25)$

• Adult Sexual Assault incidents: $23\%$ reported using SARO.

• Historical Child Sexual Assault incidents: $41\%$ reported using SARO.

• Contemporary Child Sexual Assault incidents: $69\%$ reported via the Child Protection Hotline.

3.4 Trends in Legal Action

• Legal proceedings commenced within $365$ days of reporting (in $2023/24$):

  • Incidents reported directly to Police: $15.0\%$

  • Incidents reported by SARO: <1\%

  • Incidents reported by Child Protection Helpline: $2.4\%$

• Trend in % of incidents proceeded against (Jul $2014$ - Jun $2015$ to Jul $2023$ - Jun $2024$):

  • The percentage of incidents where legal proceedings commenced within $365$ days decreased from $15.2\%$ in $2014/15$ to $8.8\%$ in $2023/24$.

  • The number of incidents proceeded against peaked at $1,124$ in $2020/21$ before decreasing to $999$ in $2023/24$.

4. Victim and Offender Relationship Dynamics $(2024/25)$

4.1 Adult Sexual Assault

• $82\%$ of adult victims are women.

• Victim to Offender Relationship Types (n=$5,451$):

  • Intimate partner: $40\%$

  • Other Known Person: $32\%$

  • Family: $11\%$

  • Person in Authority: $9\%$

  • Not Known To Victim: $6\%$

  • Unknown: $2\%$

• Adult Victims by Gender and Age (numbers reflect specific age groups shown in data, not the overall $82\%$ female statistic):

  • 16-17 yrs: Male $502$, Female $163$

  • 18-24 yrs: Male $246$, Female $50$

  • 25-44 yrs: Male $811$, Female $1,291$

  • 45-64 yrs: Male $422$, Female $1,856$

  • 65 and above: Male $49$ (female value not explicitly labelled, implies very low or zero from graph visual)

4.2 Historical Child Sexual Assault

• $48\%$ of victims are girls.

• $47\%$ of victims were aged under $10$ years at the time of the incident.

• Victim to Offender Relationship Types (n=$4,034$):

  • Person in Authority: $39\%$

  • Family: $24\%$

  • Other Known Person: $21\%$

  • Intimate partner: $7\%$

  • Unknown: $4\%$

  • Not Known To Victim: $4\%$

• Child Victims by Gender and Age:

  • 0-5 yrs: Male $118$, Female $170$

  • 6-10 yrs: Male $301$, Female $388$

  • 11-15 yrs: Male $316$, Female $1,712$

4.3 Contemporary Child Sexual Assault

• $80\%$ of victims are girls.

• $67\%$ of victims were aged $11-15$ years at the time of the incident.

• Victim to Offender Relationship Types (n=$3,089$):

  • Family: $33\%$

  • Other Known Person: $31\%$

  • Intimate partner: $20\%$

  • Not Known To Victim: $13\%$

  • Unknown: $3\%$

  • Person in Authority: $1\%$

• Child Victims by Gender and Age:

  • 0-5 yrs: Male $215$, Female $663$

  • 6-10 yrs: Male $1,141$, Female $445$

  • 11-15 yrs: Male $501$, Female $953$

5. Glossary of Key Terms

5.1 Type of Recorded Sexual Assault Incidents

• Definition: This report covers sexual assault incidents that come to the attention of, and are recorded by, NSW Police. This includes police incident categories such as sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, and assault with intent to have sexual intercourse.

• Adult Sexual Assault: Incidents involving victims aged $16$ years and over, consistent with the legal age of consent.

• Contemporary Child Sexual Assault: Incidents involving victims who were under $16$ years of age at the time of both the incident and the reporting.

• Historical Child Sexual Assault: Incidents involving victims who were under $16$ years of age at the time of the incident, but who were $16$ years or older at the time of reporting.

• Age Reference: For all categories, age refers to the victim's age at the time the offence occurred.

5.2 Pathways of Reporting Sexual Assault Incidents to NSW Police

• In Person Reporting to Police: The traditional pathway where a victim visits or phones NSW Police to make a formal complaint, which enables a formal investigation.

• Sexual Assault Reporting Option (SARO):

  • A confidential online pathway for individuals aged $16$ and over to report sexual assault to NSW Police without direct contact with police or triggering a formal criminal investigation.

  • Allows victims to share their experience in a safer, more comfortable way than traditional methods.

  • Reports can be submitted via the online Community Portal (since January $2023$) or a downloadable PDF form.

  • SARO submissions create a police record but do not lead to investigation or follow-up unless specifically requested by the victim.

  • All questions are optional, and reports can be made anonymously.

• Child Protection Helpline:

  • A state-wide telephone service in NSW for receiving and screening reports of suspected abuse or neglect of children and young people.

  • Open to both members of the public and mandatory reporters (e.g., healthcare professionals, welfare service providers, educators, residential service workers, disability support staff, religious organisation members), who are legally required to report suspected child abuse and neglect.

  • Staffed by qualified caseworkers.

  • Reports suggesting sexual abuse, serious physical abuse, or neglect (i.e., potential crimes) are referred to the Joint Child Protection Response Program (JCPRP).

  • The JCPRP, composed of staff from DCJ, NSW Health, and NSW Police, assesses whether a report should be investigated by the Child Abuse and Sex Crime Squad or a local police command.

  • BOCSAR data includes all reports referred to police through this process.

5.3 Relationship Types (Victim and Offender)

• Intimate Partner: Includes current and ex-spouse/partner, current and ex-boy/girlfriend.

• Family: Includes child, parent, sibling, and other family members.

• Other Known Person: Examples include an acquaintance, carer, colleague, ex-partner of partner, and household member.

• Person in Authority: Examples include a teacher, medical professional, religious leader, social worker, employer, and government worker.

• Unknown Relationship Type: Cases where the relationship could not be determined.

• Not Known to Victim: The offender is a stranger to the victim.

From the provided data on sexual assault in NSW from July $2015$ to June $2025$, several key inferences can be made:

• Significant Increase in Incidents: There has been a substantial long-term increase in recorded sexual assault incidents, with an $8.8\%$ rise over two years and a $10.0\%$ annual average increase over ten years, reaching $12,337$ incidents in $2024/25$. The incident rate per $100,000$ population has also nearly doubled, from $68.8$ in $2015/16$ to $147.9$ in $2024/25$.

• Historical Child Sexual Assault Driving the Increase: While all categories of sexual assault incidents have risen, Historical Child Sexual Assault shows the highest annual growth rate at $16\%$ over ten years, contributing significantly to the overall increase. Adult Sexual Assault also shows a high annual increase of $11\%$ over ten years. Contemporary Child Sexual Assault increased at a slower rate of $4\%$ per year.

• Impact of New Reporting Pathways: The increase in recorded incidents is strongly linked to new reporting pathways. SARO (Sexual Assault Reporting Option), which allows for confidential online reporting, contributed to $39\%$ of the increase in incidents, especially for Adult ($23\%$) and Historical Child Sexual Assaults ($41\%$). Direct reports to Police still account for the largest share ($55\%$ of total incidents in $2024/25$) and drove $45\%$ of the increase.

• Disparity in Legal Action: While reporting has increased, the percentage of incidents proceeding to legal action within $365$ days has decreased from $15.2\%$ in $2014/15$ to $8.8\%$ in $2023/24$. Incidents reported via SARO have a very low rate of commencing legal proceedings (<1\%), highlighting its primary role as a confidential reporting mechanism rather than a direct pathway to criminal investigation, unless specifically requested.

• Gender and Relationship Dynamics: Adult sexual assault victims are predominantly women ($82\%$), with intimate partners being the most common offender relationship type ($40\%$). For Historical Child Sexual Assault, victims are nearly equally split by gender (girls $48\%$), with a significant proportion aged under $10$ at the time of the incident, and persons in authority are the most common offenders ($39\%$). Contemporary Child Sexual Assault mainly affects girls ($80\%$), with victims often aged $11-15$, and family members ($33\%$) or other known persons ($31\%$) are the most frequent offenders.