Sexual offence statistics only reveal the tip of the iceberg as data shows that many incidents remain unreported.
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This was first measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the 2016 Personal Safety Survey, which showed that the majority of women (9 out of 10) did not report a recent incident of sexual assault.
Hume Police Sergeant David Cowell says, that reporting these types of incidents is very personal, and it will remain very hard for women and men to come forward.
"When they are reporting the offence they are revealing their own identity and time and place, and the offender's identity if they know who it is.
"To report it they need to relay what actually occurred to police," Sergeant Cowell said.
Incidents across NSW are growing at a rate of 1.8 per cent per year. In 2018, this represents an increase of 156 incidents.
Across the Southern Tablelands, incidents in Queanbeyan-Palerang are the highest in ten years according to the NSW Bureau of Crime and Statistics (BOCSAR) with 77 recorded sexual offences between January-December 2018.
The lowest number of incidents was reported in 2012 when 24 offences occurred.
In Goulburn Mulwaree 86 incidents were recorded, 24 in Yass Valley, and in the Upper Lachlan Shire there were 14.
Incidents in Yass Valley and Upper Lachlan Shire increased since 2017, and Goulburn Mulwaree decreased by 6.
In the 12 months to March 2018, women, and girls were more than four times likely to experience sexual abuse than males. Statistics show that 92 per cent of the time the perpetrator is known to the woman.
The New South Wales Police Force provides victims of sexual assault two options in making a report.
The first option is to contact the nearest police station and make a formal complaint.
The second option is to complete the Sexual Assault Reporting Options (SARO) questionnaire. The information gathered can be used to prosecute an offender and to develop strategies to reduce this crime type.
In Australia, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) for confidential information