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If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. 144948 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been ar~nted ~y NSW l3Ureau of Crime Statistics and Research to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission of the copyright owner. ~. , ContempolJ1ry Issues.: in Crime' and. Justice:· .. ' ". Number 20 .1 July 1993 Adult Sexual Assault in NSW Pia Salmelainen and Christine Coumarelos The term 'sexual assault' means different result of the Women's Movement. 2 The the previous four categories of sexual things to different people. These reforms included changes to the law, assault with a new offence structure. meanings are influenced by factors such changes to police and court procedures, Under the new law, there were three basic as p'ersonal experiences, attitudes, and and the creation.of sexual assault centres offences ('sexual assaUlt', 'indecent media images. Under the law in New to cater for the needs of victims. Reforms assault' and 'act of indecency'), each South Wales (NSW), a variety of sexual continue to be made in the 1990s as the having an aggravated and a non behaviours constitute sexual assault problem of sexual assault gains more aggravated version, and an additional offences. This bulletin describes the social and political significance. offence of 'assault with intent to have major types of recorded sexual assault sexual intercourse'. The aim of these offences committed against adults. It changes was to 'bring the sexual assault reports on how often, where and when WHAT IS SEXUAL ASSAULT? laws into line with..community expectations fi! sexual assaults against adults occur in by increasing the penalties, extending NSW, according to police records. The The law regarding sexual assault in NSW their scope, and introducing a new, bulletin also examines the characteristics has changed several times since the late simplified scheme of offences to ciarify the of adult sexual assault victims, the 19705. Up until 1981 , sexual assaults law'.6 characteristics of proven sexual assault were divided into rape offences, on the The frequent changes to the sexual offenders, and the types of penalties one hand, and related sexual offences, on assault laws in recent years make it imposed for sexual assault. Finally, a the other. The main features of the impossible to analyze police and court scussion of possible prevention legislation inciuded a very narrow data using a consistent set of legal strategies is provided, and the services definition of rape (penile penetration of the definitions of sexual assault. For the available to victims of sexual assault in vagina of a non-consenting woman), a purposes of this bulletin, sexual assault NSW are outlined. single maximum penalty of life will be discussed in terms of three imprisonment, and no restrictions on the categories which were derived after admittance in evidence of the victim's careful consideration of the 1981 and INTRODUCTION sexual history. In an attempt to 'remedy 1989 legislative categorizations. 7 The iiiE +iU.DiII major defects' in this legislation the then three chosen categories provide a Written laws governing sexual behaviour State Government introduced the Crimes classification of sexual assault that is can be traced back two and a half (Sexual Assault) Amendment Act 1981.3 simpler than any of the legislative thousand years to the Old Testament. In This Act saw the common law offences of categorizations and allows comparison of the patriarchal society of the time, women rape and attempted rape replaced with a the available data on sexual assault. The were essentially the property of men, series of graduated offences of sexual chosen categories differentiate offences namely the property of either the father if assault, as w.ell as significant evidentiary by degree of seriousness according to the woman was unmarried or the husband and procedural changes to the law. 4 whether sexual intercourse and violence if the woman was married. As a result, Among other things, the reforms sought to were involved. The three categories are: when a woman was raped, it was the 'place less emphasis on the sexual aspect 1. Aggravated sexual assault. This father or the husband who was 'seen to and more on the aspect of violence in category refers to the most serious have been wronged by the rape', more so sexual assault cases'.s The new type of sexual assault, namely sexual than the woman herself.' Over the ages, categories of sexual assault were: 'sexual assault involving sexual intercourse the sexual rights of women underwent assault category 1 - inflicting grievous (whether actual or intended) under very little change. Accordingly, the sexual bodily harm with intent to have sexual aggravated circumstances. For the exploitation of women, including the most intercourse'; 'sexual assault category 2 - purposes of this category, an serious type of sexual exploitation, rape, inflicting actual bodily harm, etc., with aggravated circumstance is anyone went largely unnoticed by society for a intent to have sexual intercourse'; 'sexual of the following: the offender long time. assault category 3 - sexual intercourse maliciously inflicted or threatened to without consent'; and 'sexual assault In the 1970s substantial reforms were inflict grievous or actual bodily harm category 4 - indecent assault and act of ·ade in the area of sexual assault in on the victim or any other person indecency'. f\ustralia and many other Western who was present or nearby; the countries. These reforms were largely The NSW Crimes (Amendment) Bill 1989, offender was in the company of one prompted by an outcry against rape as a which became operative in 1991, replaced or more persons; the victim was -' under the authority of the offender; both surveys indicated that ~:le majority of that they may have to face in the court the victim had a S&rious intellect!.!~! ~, women victims did not raport the incident. room. IS It has been suggested tnti.'iinany physical disability.a The diffeient estimates of under-reporting of these reasons for not reporting arise by the ABS survey and the international from a set of false CUltural beliefs or 2. Sexual intercourse withe ut consent. 16 survey may reflect differences in 'myths' about sexual assault. Among This category refers to s<.'xual methodology. For example, the ABS these myths, for example, is the intercourse with a person without the survey had tht, following characteristics misconce~:ion that rape requires some person's consent and with the compared with the international survey: it sort of physical force on the part of the knowledge that the person did not canvassed women aged 18 years and rapistP consent. 9 over 'across NSW rather than women aged 16 years and over across Australia; 3. Indecent assault. This category VICTIMIZATIO~ RATE it involved mail-back paper-and-pencil refers to the assault of a person, and questionnaires rather than telephone Because of the high level of under the commission of an act of interviews; it had a more recent counting reporting, actual victimization rates for indecency on or in the presence of period (i.e. 19911'1992 rather than 1988); sexual assault have proved difficult to the person either during, or and it employed a narrower definition of estimate. Numerous measures of the immediately before or after, the sexual assault WhICh, unlike the victimization rate have been published, assault.lo international survey's definition, did not some of which adjust for the level of under-reporting and some of whidl do not. Under the present law, sexual intercourse include less serious incidents involving The victimization rate estimates have has a broad definition. It is the penetration offensive behavibur and sexual been highly variable. In addition to the of either the female genitalia or the anus harassment. The inclusion of less serious variable treatment of under-reporting, the of any person by any part of the body of incidents in the international survey's victimization rate estimates are affected by another person. The insertion of foreign definition would be expected to lower the factors such as the time period in Which objects into the female genitalia or into the overall level of reporting, and, indeed, the the sexual assault occurred, the way the anus by another person is included as major reason given in the international incident of sexual assault is defined (e.g. sexual intercourse, except -,yhen carried survey for not reporting to police was that culturally and/or legally), and whether the out for proper medical purposes. The the incident was 'not serious enough'. introduction of any part of the penis into seasonal variation in sexual assault rates another person's mouth, and the act of It is likely that the ABS estimate is the is taken into account. cunnilingus also constitute sexual more reliable of the two estimates for the following reasons. Firstly, the ASS intercourse. .-\nnualrictimization rate sample was probably more representative of the population because selection of a Information on the annual victimization THE INCIDENCE OF SEX"CAL household (from which the victim was rate for sexual assault in Australia is ASSAULT surveyed) did not depend on Whether it obtainable from police statistics and victir had a telephone. Secondly, the ASS surveys. Unlike victim surveys, which survey had a much higher response rate provide measures of both the number of l:NDER-REPORTING (80.5% compared with 45.5%). Thus, the victims reporting to police and the number of victims not reporting to police, pOlice It is difficult to provide precise estimates of best available estimate suggests that statistics are necessarily based only on the incidence of sexual assault because a about one-quarter of the sexual assaults committed against women in NSW are victims recorded by the police.