Archive for March, 2008

Crime Statistics: Physical assault, sexual assault & armed robberies

In 2005 to 2006 Australians expenditure on the criminal justice system was around $8.5 Billion.

In 2006 there were over 200,000 violent crimes in Australia.

Physical assaults represent the majority of violent crimes, with an increase of 50% between 1996 to 2006 to over 170,000 physical assaults.

Physical assaults are most likely to occur in residential and community locations.

Males have a higher victimization rate than females.

Both males and females between the ages of 15 and 24 years have the highest rate of physical assault.

Most female victims of physical assault knew their offender.

Male victims are much more likely to be physically assaulted by a stranger.

Physical assaults are seasonal with more occurring during Spring and Summer.

Sexual assault is most likely to occur at home.

The highest rate of sexual assaults occur to females aged from 10 to 14 years.

Most sexual assault victims have some relationship with the offender.

Sexual assaults have increased annually by about 4% since 1995.

In 2006 there were over 7,500 armed robberies, which is a 21% increase from the previous year.

A knife is the most likely weapon to be used in an armed robbery.

Support Association for Victims of Crime

The Crime Victim Support Association is based in Melbourne  and is run by victims of crime and is a non-government agency whose aim is to assist any person who becomes a victim of crime in Victoria to ensure that their needs and rights are met.

To contact the Crimes Victim Support Agency go to www.cvsa.asn.au.

Sentencing Laws

There is an organization in Victoria Called People Against Lenient Sentencing (PALS). PALS believe that often the sentence does not fit the crime, particularly in such ases as childhood sexual abuse.

PALS aim is to give victims a voice when sentences appear to be blatantly inadequate and inconsistent with social expectations.

If you have been a victim of crime and believe that the sentence given to the offender was inadequate or inappropriate you may wish to contact People Against Lenient Sentencing at www.palsforjustice.com.

Culpable & Dangerous Driving

There is an organization in Victoria called Working Against Culpable Driving (WACD). WACD is a support service run by the family members of individuals who have been tragically killed as the result of culpable driving. Their objective is to both provide support and information to other families during such difficult times.

WACD is also working towards reducing the number of preventable deaths on our roads by promoting a number of innovative proposals, such as Alcohol Interloch Devices.

Working Against Culpable Driving can be contacted at www.culpabledriving.org.

Support for Crime Victims

There is an organization in Victoria called the Victims of Crime Advocacy League (VOCAL). VOCAL is comprised of people who themselves have been crime victims and who believe that more needs to be done to address the rights of victims of crime.

At present VOCAL is attempting to address a range of issues, including the law relating to Double Jeopardy and Oral Impact statements.

The objective of VOCAL is to provide support and information to victims of crime and their services can be located at www.vocalvictoria.com.au. If you would like to be involved with the work of VOCAL, namely in addressing community concerns relating to victim’s rights, please also contact VOCAL as they are always looking for new members.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Transcranial Magentic Stimulation therapy (rTMS) of the right prefrontal cortex for patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been shown to alleviate anxiety symptoms and provided therapeutic effects for PTSD patients. rTMS is an emergenging new treatment which will soon be avialable in Australia.

Bulimia Linked with Childhood Sexual Abuse

A recent study has shown that the incidence of bulimic symptoms in adolescence is higher in girls who report childhood sexual abuse before age 16 years, even after adjustment for age, background factors, previous psychiatric morbidity, and dieting behavior. The incidence is 2.5 times higher for 1 episode of abuse vs 4.9 times higher for 2 or more episodes of abuse vs no abuse. The study suggests that sexual abuse may initiate a pattern of dealing with emotional distress that brings a high likelihood of bulimia. Before meaningful treatment of an eating disorder can begin the possibility of childhood sexual abuse should be examined.