Assaults in Western Australia reached record highs last year, new Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals, with two-thirds of them domestic violence-related.
The figures, released on Wednesday, show that WA experienced an increase in assaults of 10 per cent in 2024, the highest recorded across the 30-year time series.
There were 175 victims of family and domestic violence (FDV) homicide and related offences recorded nationally in 2024, an increase of 14 victims from the previous year.Credit: Australian Bureau of Statistics
The assault victimisation rate also increased from 1,486 in 2023 to 1,580 victims per 100,000 persons in 2024.
Around three in five victims of assault were female, while more than a quarter were aged between 25 and 34.
Most of the assaults occurred at a residential location and did not involve a weapon.
Sex assaults also surged in 2024 with an increase of nine per cent. This was also the highest recorded number of victims across the history of the series.
Most sexual assault victims were again female and nearly half were children aged between 10 and 17 years old.
Almost a third of all recorded sexual assault incidents were domestic violence related.
The data also showed of all the assaults in WA last year, 64.7 per cent of them were domestic violence assaults, higher than any other state in the country where it was recorded.
