Half of sexual assaults committed in Blacktown due to domestic violence

UP TO 50 per cent of sexual assaults committed in the Blacktown area last year were domestic violence related, police said.

UP TO 50 per cent of sexual assaults committed in the Blacktown area last year were domestic violence related, police said.

Blacktown commander Superintendent Gary Merryweather said one reason reported sexual and indecent assaults went up from 493 to 573 in the two years to June this year was that more women were disclosing domestic violence.

“It’s a very personal matter and you need to develop a rapport with people before they will disclose (a sexual assault),” he said.

The data was reported by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

Supt Merryweather said the rise in sexual assaults was not caused by more people being abducted in the streets by strangers, but “more about relationships”. He said the increase was partially due to a rise in reported historical offences in the wake of the royal commission into child sexual abuse.

Overall, domestic violence-related assaults in the Blacktown Council area — taking in Blacktown, Mt Druitt and Quakers Hill police commands — fell by 2.4 per cent in the past year.

BLACKTOWN COMMANDER COMMITTED TO REDUCING RATES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

In the 12 months to June this year, 1916 incidents were reported, down from 1963 domestic assaults in the previous year.

“It’s a bit early to be celebrating, but it’s very promising,” Supt Merryweather said.

BLACKTOWN POLICE INCREASING EFFORTS TO TACKLE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Two months ago, he vowed to crack down on domestic violence by adding officers to the domestic violence response team.

Blacktown police responded to 3300 domestic violence-related incidents last year.

“Police are out there being proactive and engaging the community,” he said.

“Men have got to take responsibility — it’s not normal to hit a woman.”

The bureau’s report noted that Blacktown residents were still 1.5 times more likely to be victims of domestic violence compared with others in the state.

For help, call the NSW Domestic Violence Hotline on 1800 65 64 63.