NEW SOUTH WALES

Between 2013 and 2014, the number of victims of assault recorded by police in New South Wales decreased by 4.9% to 65,576 victims. The assault victimisation rate decreased from 930.8 victims per 100,000 people in 2013, to 872.2 victims per 100,000 people in 2014.

In New South Wales during 2014:

• About a quarter (24% or 16,057 victims) of assault victims were aged between 25 and 34 years;
• Over half of total assault victims experienced victimisation at a residential location (55% or 35,735 victims);
• Less than one in ten victims (6% or 3,949 victims) reported a weapon being used by the offender;
• Males comprised a slightly larger proportion of total assault victims (54% or 35,119 victims);
• Over half of male assault victims knew the offender (55% or 19,267 victims), whilst 36% of male assault victims (12,724 victims) identified the offender as a stranger; and
• More than four in five female assault victims knew the offender (83% or 25,271 victims), whilst 13% of female assault victims (4,062 victims) identified the offender as a stranger.
• Just over half of female assault victims identified a family member as the offender (51% or 15,549 victims).

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER PEOPLE

In New South Wales between 2013 and 2014, the number of recorded victims of assault who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander decreased by 4% to 4,696 victims, accounting for 7.2% of total assault victims recorded in the state in 2014.

In New South Wales:

• The assault victimisation rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people decreased to 2,125.8 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in 2014 (compared to 2,259.3 victims per 100,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in 2013);
• The assault victimisation rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females was more than one and a half times larger than the rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males (2,727.6 victims of assault per 100,000 females; compared to 1,520.6 victims of assault per 100,000 males);
• The assault victimisation rate for non-Indigenous males was higher than for non-Indigenous females (822.2 assault victims per 100,000 non-Indigenous males; compared to 649.3 assault victims per 100,000 non-Indigenous females); and
• The proportion of assault victims that knew the offender was higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander assault victims than non-Indigenous assault victims (89% or 4,176 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims, compared to 65% or 35,106 non-Indigenous victims).