Nine in 10 women believe sexual violence is ‘inevitable’

Nine in ten Australian women view sexual assault as “inevitable”.
Now read that again.
A staggering 90 per cent of the women in this country feel that there is no way they will escape the harrowing experience of sexual violence in their lifetime, and experts say the figure – from a study from the Young Women’s Alliance (YWA) – isn’t surprising.
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“I’m not surprised by the statistics, but I actually find it emboldening to continue to do the work that we’re doing,” Angelique Wan, CEO and Co-Founder of Consent Labs, tells 9honey.
“For the longest time, sexual violence and gender based violence has been the norm … but this is the first time that we’re actually putting language to it, and we’re speaking about it openly.”
Wan said the reason this statistic may feel shocking to some Aussies is because it’s the first time we’ve put numbers to the fear of sexual violence most women live with.
For decades, it’s been unspoken; women walked home with keys clutched between their fingers, texted friends the exact locations of first dates, but rarely voiced the reason why (at least not publicly).
Now, Wan says, that’s finally changing.
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“The breaking of the silence, and the uncovering of that, and speaking about it in this public forum… is the only way in which we’re going to change those statistics,” she says.
“It’s not going to change if we continue to not address it, or continue to accept silence.”
This new statistic also proves to non-believers that it’s not just a handful of ‘paranoid’ individuals who live in fear of sexual violence, it’s millions of women all over the country.
Most Aussie women, especially young women, know what it feels like to try to explain to a man they love what it feels like to move through the world with the threat of sexual violence hanging over them.
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“There’s a lot of research that’s happened here in Australia that points to sexual violence in all of its forms, being prevalent,” Wan says, adding that school kids as young as Year Seven are asking questions about experiences of sexual violence.
According to the 2021–22 PSS, 22 percent of Aussie women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. That equates to about 2.2 million women.
The real number in 2024 is likely much higher, as so many instances of sexual violence still go unreported, but millions of men still don’t believe women when they voice their fears or share their stories.
That needs to change before Australia, as a nation, can combat the epidemic of sexual violence that’s finally being exposed after decades of silence.
“There’s that fear that if I come out and say that I’ve experienced something, no one’s going to believe me, or they’ll think I’m exaggerating it,” Wan explains.
“So I think one of the biggest positives, not only of this survey, but all the national conversations and the advocacy that’s been happening over the past three-plus years, is that there is a greater understanding of the fact that gender based violence and sexual violence happens, what it actually looks like and how it manifests in society.”
Men play an important role in this social shift towards believing women, addressing sexual violence as a national issue, and working towards a better future.
Studies and anecdotal evidence have shown time and again that sexual violence is most likely to be perpetrated by men against women, and men can also be subjected to sexual violence themselves, with the 2021–22 PSS showing that just over six per cent of men have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
With that in mind, it’s vital that males receive education around respectful relationships and consent as well as women.
“Men and young boys absolutely play a role,” Wan adds, “because consent and concepts around boundaries and power are relevant to all of us. The onus is on all of us.”
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While Consent Labs’ efforts are focused on the classroom, Aussies of all ages deserve access to education about consent, what a healthy relationship is, what sexual violence looks like and how to seek support.
Wan is hopeful that with continued federal and state government investment into consent education, like the $77 million funding package announced in July, we’ll soon see these statistics and attitudes start to shift in a positive direction.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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