The University of Sydney has published a troubling study revealing a significant rise in the rates of sexual assault against Australian children since the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers anticipated a decline in such incidents, similar to trends observed in other countries, but instead found that attacks on boys increased by 15.7%.

Key Findings

  • The study, published in the JAMA Network Open, analyzed data from multiple Australian sources, including national police records and child protection databases.
  • Rates of sexual assaults against girls aged up to nine rose by 2.8% per year, while those aged 10 to 17 saw an increase of 4.2%.
  • For boys aged 10 to 17, the rate of sexual assaults sharply accelerated after 2021.
  • Family violence-related assaults also showed a concerning trend, with stable rates before 2021 followed by steep increases thereafter.

Contributing Factors

Researchers attribute the rise in violence to several factors:

  • Income inequality in Australia is at its highest in 20 years, coinciding with the increase in violence.
  • Economic stress intensified post-2020, particularly after government relief measures like the JobKeeper payment scheme ended in March 2021.
  • Shifts in gender norms and the influence of the manosphere—misogynistic online communities—may also contribute to rising hostility towards women and girls.