More than one in five Australians have admitted to inflicting some sort of sexual violence since turning 18, according to recent data from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC).
The shocking figures include behaviour such as pressuring someone for dates or sex, recording and sharing intimate images and videos, as well as sexual assault.
In the survey of 5076 anonymous Australians aged between 18 and 45, almost 10 per cent had reported perpetrating sexual violence in the past 12 months.
Men are more likely to have committed this sexual violence, as the study found 26.4 per cent of men admitted to being perpetrators compared to 17.7 per cent of women.
The study is one of the largest community surveys conducted in Australia to focus on sexual violence perpetration. Until now, the national understanding of sexual violence has been primarily framed through rates of self-reported victimisation.
All of this comes as the nation continues to grapple with an epidemic of family and domestic violence.
“It’s quite shocking to see a number attached to specific acts of sexual violence, which represents how many people in our sample freely admit to having done it,” AIC researcher Dr Christopher Dowling said.
“But I think broadly these results confirm what we’ve long been able to glean from victimisation rates and other research — Australian and international – which is that a notable proportion of adults are perpetrating sexual violence.”
Sexual harassment and coercion is a gender-based problem
Within the concerning behaviour revealed in the data, one in ten participants reported pressuring someone for dates or sex since the age of 18. One in 20 reported using emotional or psychological manipulation to get someone to participate in sexual activity (an example is telling someone they are a prude if they don’t want to have sex).
Just over 4 per cent of respondents reported pressuring someone to take drugs or alcohol before requesting sexual activity. Men are almost twice more likely to do so, and are over three times more likely to have blackmailed someone into sex, in the past 12 months.
Another 4 per cent of participants reported they’ve pressured someone to participate in unprotected sexual activity.
The most common forms of self-reported sexual assault were non-consensual kissing (6.6 per cent) and non-consensual touching (6.4 per cent).
On the other hand, 2.5 per cent of participants reported having perpetrated sexual intercourse without a victim’s consent since the age of 18. And 2.4 per cent said they’ve perpetrated stealthing– non-consensual removal of a condom during sex– or related behaviours.
When it comes to image-base sexual abuse, 3.3 per cent reported having perpetrated behaviour such as recording, sharing or threatening to share intimate, nude or sexual images or videos of someone without their consent.
Men were three times more likely than women to perpetrate image-based sexual abuse.
Men were also significantly more likely than women to have perpetrated multiple forms of sexual violence.
The study noted as well that “any comparison of men and women on self-reported sexual violence perpetration may underestimate the true magnitude of gender-based differences.”
Participants were informed of their anonymity before taking the survey, and researchers note this could have encouraged more honest responses than other forms of research.
The Australian Law Reform Commission is currently examining justice responses to sexual violence in Australia and is due to provide its final report to the attorney general by January 22 next year.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit http://www.ntv.org.au.
Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.