A national survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has unveiled distressing statistics about sexual harassment and violence in the country. The 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey reported that over 1.7 million Australians, accounting for 8.7 percent of the population, were sexually harassed between March 2021 and May 2022. Of these incidents, 1.3 million victims were women, and 426,800 were men.
Shockingly, 97 percent of sexual harassment incidents against women were perpetrated by men, with inappropriate comments about bodies and sex lives being the most common form of harassment. The survey also revealed that more than one-third of Australian adults, around 7 million people, have experienced physical violence since turning 15. Men were more likely to experience physical violence, but the majority of women (87 percent) knew the perpetrator, compared to 42 percent of men.
The ABS’s survey emphasized the significant impact on mental well-being, as nearly two-thirds of women and over a quarter of men felt anxiety or fear for their safety in the year following an assault. The survey also found that around 2.2 million Australian women have encountered sexual violence, defined as incidents of sexual assault, with women being three times more likely to experience it from someone they knew rather than a stranger.