Violence: Young people are more at risk
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' publication Australian Social Trends 2008 contains a section titled 'Risk taking by young people', which includes statistics on drinking at risky levels; hospitalisation due to drug use and acute alcohol intoxication; use of illicit drugs; dangerous driving; injury and death from transport accidents; and violence.
Young people and violence
Young people, especially young men, are at a greater risk than other age groups of experiencing violence. In the 2005 Personal Safety Survey:
- 12% of people aged 18-24 years reported being physically assaulted by a man during the last 12 months, and 3% reported physical assault by a woman.
- The proportion of men aged 18-24 years (19%) who reported experiencing physical assault by a male was almost five times as high as the rate for men aged 25 years and over (4%).
- A higher proportion of men aged 18-19 years reported experiencing physical assault by a male than did men aged 20-24 years (29% and 15% respectively).
- Overall, the proportion of young women who were physically assaulted by a man was smaller (5%) and similar for the 18-19 years and 20-24 years age groups.
- Of men aged 18-24 years who were physically assaulted by a male, most (77%) reported being attacked by a stranger. In contrast, women in this age group who were physically assaulted by a male were likely to be assaulted by a man known to them (82%).
- Young men (aged 18-24 years) most frequently reported that the physical assault occurred at licensed premises (44%) or in the open (34%). For young women, the most common location of physical assault was in their or another person's home (49%).
- The majority (79%) of 18-24-year-old men who were physically assaulted by another male said that the perpetrator had been drinking alcohol or taking drugs. Just over one-third (34%) also said that they themselves had been drinking or taking drugs.
- Alcohol and drugs were less frequently reported by women as involved in assault by a male. Nevertheless, a considerable proportion (37%) of women aged 18-24 years who had been physically assaulted by a man reported that the perpetrator's consumption of alcohol or drugs had contributed to the incident.
- 'Acts intended to cause injury' are a set of offences (excluding murder and those resulting in death) where there has been an intention to cause non-fatal injury or harm to another person and where there is no sexual or acquisitive element. Among 20-24-year-olds in 2006-07, the adjudication rate for acts intended to cause injury was higher than for all other age groups, with the next highest rate being for 25-29-year-olds. Men aged 20-24 years were around five times as likely as women in this age group to be adjudicated for this offence (1,034 compared with 225 adjudications per 100,000).
- Homicide and related offences refers to killing, trying to kill or conspiracy to kill another person. Compared with most other criminal offences, these offences are relatively rare. In 2006-07, the rate of adjudication for homicide among young people aged 20-24 years was 8 per 100,000.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008, Australian social trends, Cat. no. 4102.0, viewed 2 October 2008, http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Chapter5002008.