Queensland’s sexual assault hotspots ranked as rape reports spike 226 per cent

Over the past 12 months, 11,749 victims of sexual abuse and rape have come forward across Queensland as the state grapples with a sexual violence crisis.

A Darling Downs sexual assault advocate is urging the government to do more to protect women from violence and calling on perpetrators to acknowledge their behaviors, stop blaming others, and find a desire within themselves to change.

Queensland is in the midst of a sexual violence crisis as rape and attempted rape reports rising by 226 per cent over the past two decades, with concerning data showing teenagers accounted for a large number of the heinous crimes.

The Queensland Sexual Assault Network reported that the rising rates of sexual violence and rape was the most pressing criminal justice issue facing the state, as the crime reported the largest increase when compared to all criminal offences.

Police statistics show last year 11,749 victims of sexual assault came forward to police across the state, up from 10,464 in 2023.

In July 2024, a Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council report found on average over the past 18 years, a majority of the state’s rape cases involved juvenile offenders and men in their early 20s.

It stated 48.5 per cent of the teenagers found guilty were sentenced to a detention order whereas 98.7 per cent of the adults found guilty of rape were given jail terms.

Despite juveniles accounting for a disproportionate number of the state’s rape cases, the Crisafulli Government did not strengthen legislation surrounding the offence in December 2024 as part of the LNPs “Adult Crime, Adult Time,” election campaign.

Premier David Crisafulli has not guaranteed that rape sentencing legislation will be bolstered when his government next makes changes to the Youth Crime Act.

Soft sentences handed to teen rapists

In late 2024, two regional Queensland teenagers guilty of separate rapes were both sentenced to serve 18 months of a three year jail term before their release on probation, and both had no convictions recorded.

One of the Darling Downs teenagers, who is now 19, pleaded not guilty to raping a peer at a house party, forcing his victim to relive their trauma under the scrutiny of defence lawyers.

The other Toowoomba region offender pleaded guilty to his brazen and violent crime which was caught on CCTV cameras in the Toowoomba CBD in 2023.

A 2024 Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council report found although 4.4 per cent of Queensland’s total offences were committed by a juvenile, 12.5 per cent of the state’s rape cases were committed by teenagers.

In 2022, a Townsville teenager who violently raped a peer on school grounds during a lunch break appealed his sentence, which reduced his 18 month detention order to 14 months.

The then 13-year-old boy had no conviction recorded and had to serve 50 per cent of the jail term.

A year prior in the same jurisdiction, a 17-year-old boy was sentenced to a conditional release order after a jury found him guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl.

The court heard he bet his friend’s a carton of beer that he would be able to sleep with the peer.

He also had no conviction recorded.

The courts heard none of the teenagers showed remorse for their crimes.

836 Darling Downs sexual violence victims came forward in 2024

Of the seven QPS police districts that cover the state, the Southern Region ranked fourth with 593 alleged rape offences occurring in 2024 and 1475 alleged sexual assaults.

This area includes the Darling Downs, Ipswich, and southwest Queensland.

Within the Darling Downs, police reported 599 sexual assaults and 237 rape-related crimes.

Of these, 111 rape offences occurred in Toowoomba, 13 in Kingaroy, and 12 each in Warwick, Gatton and Dalby.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics stated in 2023 there were 8,442 victims of sexual assault recorded in Queensland - a 14% increase (1,011 victims) from the previous year.

In the Ipswich region, police reported 696 sexual assaults and alleged 286 rape related crimes. There were 180 sexual assaults and 70 rape and attempted rape offences recorded in the South West region which includes the town of Roma.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently reported the number of victim-survivors recorded by police rose by 11 per cent across the nation in 2023, which was the 12th straight annual rise.

Across the nation, New South Wales reported the largest rise in sexual assault reports, up 19 per cent, followed by Queensland which recorded a 14 per cent rise.

ABS head of crime and justice statistics Samantha McNally said it was “the highest rate of sexual assault victim-survivors recorded in our 31-year dataset”.

What steps will help curb rise of sexual violence?

Lifeline Darling Downs and South West Queensland chief executive officer Rachelle Patterson said more support was needed for frontline services, because while jail terms were necessary at times, prevention was key to addressing violence against women.

“Our best chance at creating a safe community is to work with young people and families when they show the first signs of struggling,” she said.

“If we do a lot more work on improving the community’s access to better support families and children who are at risk of becoming violent perpetrators then we can stop violence against women before it occurs.

“This requires a very early wraparound multi-agency approach rather than trying to respond to offending behaviour years down the track.”

Rachelle Patterson said the government needs to better support, fund, and work with agencies and front line workers who are tackling the ramifications of violence in the community first hand.

Ms Patterson encouraged the Queensland Government to provide funding for more long-term models, where its departments, such as education and health, collaborate with organisations like Lifeline, and DVAC to work together to provide programs “before the wheels fall off”.

“The government needs to have bipartisan support and agree on ensuring there are long-term funding comments in place for frontline organisations that extend beyond a handful of years to ensure meaningful change and intervention can be achieved.”

She noted often perpetrators of sexual violence were once victims themselves.

“This is not an excuse but it gives us a really good idea of the importance of doing early intervention work with young people who are living in homes where violence and abuse is occurring,” she said.

The number of victim-survivors of sexual assault recorded by police rose by 11 per cent in 2023, the 12th straight annual rise, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Men’s behavioural issues

Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council reported over the past 18 years 98.9 per cent of people sentenced were male and “only 22 women were sentenced for rape over the data period”.

Ms Patterson said no court, practitioner, or police officer can make an offender change.

“Whilst (incarceration) it is necessary at times, research shows once someone perpetrates violence, it is very hard to get them to change their behaviour unless they truly want to change,” she said.

“A court can mandate the behavioural change programs but it’s really down to the individual.

“Evidence shows if men are willing to participate and engage in behavioural change programs, they can change.

“But they need to acknowledge their behaviours, stop blaming others and want to change.”