Record number of Ballarat sexual crime victims report offences to police

Brave Ballarat sexual abuse victims have come forward in record numbers amid a push for survivors to report their experiences to police.

A fence in Ballarat is covered in signs and ribbons in support of victims of child abuse. Picture: David Crosling

More Ballarat residents came forward to police as victims of sexual assault than anywhere else in state this past year, according to new crime data.

Ballarat – a historic hotspot for sexual related crime – saw a more than 280 per cent spike in victims coming forward in the year ending March 2024, newly released data from the Crime Statistics Agency Victoria shows.

More than 550 people reported to police this past year in Ballarat after only 145 came forward across the whole municipality last year.

The cities of Casey, Greater Bendigo, Wyndham, La Trobe and Hume also saw increases in victims reporting sexual crime.

It comes as sexual crime offences tripled in Ballarat, with 697 offences recorded this past year after 233 cases in 2023.

Ballarat also had the third highest offence rate in the state, with 580 offences per 100,000 people.

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed Victoria saw a 5 per cent increase in sexual assault.

There were 6316 victims of sexual assault in 2023 — the highest figure in more than a decade.

More than a third of Victorian victims were aged between 10 and 17, with 67 per cent of victims reporting they knew their offender.

Nearly 90 per cent of victims were female.

Sexual Assault Services Victoria chief executive Kathleen Maltzahn said while it was positive more people were coming forward, the numbers were only the “tip of the iceberg”.

“It’s good news and catastrophic news,” she said.

“It’s good news that more people are coming forward and feeling like they can report, the bad news is we know there’s still a long way to go and there are catastrophic rates of sexual violence.”

Nationally, Australia recorded a 31 year high for sexual abuse.

Loud Fence has driven a significant movement nationwide supporting child abuse survivors. Picture Supplied

On Saturday members of Ballarat child sexual abuse group Loud Fence and Ballarat parish council representatives — including Ballarat Diocese Bishop Paul Bird — will hold a memorial where they will re-tie ribbons on the recently restored iron fence at St Patrick’s Cathedral Parish.

Loud fence was formed in 2015 during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, forging a powerful movement where communities tie colourful ribbons at sites across the country where abuse has occured.

Maureen Hatcher, founder of Loud Fence at Ballarat. Picture: Peter Kervarec/Supplied

Loud Fence founder Maureen Hatcher said Saturday’s event would be a “huge step” in the fight to stop sexual abuse.

“It’s going to be incredibly powerful,” she said.

“We want to exterminate child sexual assault and stop things like this from happening again and unless we all work together it’s not going to happen.”

Earlier this week Ballarat councillors voted on designs for a new $1m memorial at Victoria Park meant to reflect the city’s legacy of sexual abuse.

The designs for the Continuous Voices memorial reflect “soaring curves which curl around each other” aimed at “encouraging reflection, healing, conversation and an act as an archive of the past”, a council media release stated.