Domestic violence and sexual assault are still disturbingly common crimes committed within NSW, with the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) reporting it as the highest recorded criminal incident for the third time in a row.
In March this year, BOSCAR released the quarterly NSW Recorded Crime Statistics (NSWRCS) which had showed “the most concerning upwards trends,” according to NSWRCS Executive Director Jackie Fitzgerald, as reported by 9news.
The report shows that over the last 12 months until December 2022 there were 33,410 incidents of domestic violence related assault recorded. This shows a 3 per cent increase since 2021 where there were 32,125 recorded incidents. This report looks at over a dozen major criminal offences across NSW.
According to Fitzgerald, domestic violence is “one of the most pressing social problems,” that this country faces, with sexual assault also increasing by 7 per cent compared to 5 years ago.
Greater Sydney places like the Central Coast saw a 14.8 percent increase in DV related assault, while the City and Inner South saw a 11.4 percent increase in sexual assault over two years.
With these troubling numbers published, the NSW government has recently announced the continuation of funding domestic violence services provided by Relationships Australia NSW (RANSW).
$711,619 will be given to RANSW for the next 12 months, something that the Minister for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Jodie Harrison sees that these “programs provided by these organisations as critical in tackling the heart of the problem.”
“This is part of the Government’s program to support 12 community-based projects provided by various organisations, including those around prevention, early intervention and crisis response,” Harrison told City Hub.
“Funding for some of these services were due to end on 30 June, a legacy of the previous government, who had no plan to continue funding for them.”
