- Sex crimes soar
- The Herald Sun
- 26/04/2009 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 258 articles in 2009 )
AT LEAST one rape or sexual assault is reported inside a Victorian pub or nightclub every week, police figures reveal.
Police and rape support groups say drunk and drug-affected women in bars are being targeted by sex predators and they believe reported figures are a fraction of the real number.
Now experts are calling for the urgent formation of a taskforce to deal with the sickening problem.
* Have you been the victim of a sexual assault at a pub or club? Tell us your story in the comments section below
The Brumby Government yesterday pledged to investigate.
Never-before-released data on pub and club offences shows there were 61 sexual attacks in Victorian licensed premises last financial year - 22 rapes and 39 sexual assaults.
At least 10 of the offences were committed in premises in Melbourne's CBD, but attacks were also recorded in regional centres including Echuca, Lorne and Ballarat and inner-city venues in Prahran, South Melbourne and Collingwood.
Most rapes took place in toilets, private rooms, alcoves and offices and sexual assaults happening anywhere from beer gardens to dance floors, police and sex abuse counsellors said.
The real number of sex crimes would be even higher as they were "notoriously unreported", police said.
"In the majority of cases the victim has been drinking heavily and these predators have preyed upon them in a vulnerable state," Sexual Crime Squad Det Acting Insp Robert Ridley said.
"These people are going out there and finding people vulnerable and taking advantage of them. They are sexual predators picking an easy target."
The Victorian Centre Against Sexual Assault also said it had anecdotal evidence of "many more" rapes occurring in licensed venues.
Reported cases included a woman in her 40s raped in a Prahran nightclub, a mid-20s woman raped in the male toilet of a western suburbs nightclub and a teenager raped in a regional hotel.
Drink spiking was suspected in some cases and tests found alcohol was involved in all but two of the rapes. More than half involved drugs.
Insp Ridley said the figures did not include instances where people had been followed from a pub or club and raped outside the premises or plied with drugs or alcohol and assaulted elsewhere. He also said the problem was widespread.
"You couldn't say it's concentrated in one area geographically, it's spread around Victoria," he said.
"People might think it's just a case of people putting drugs in drinks, but it also might be that they're drinking too much alcohol and letting their guard down or someone buying them a drink that has more effect than they expect."
CASA spokeswoman Karen Hogan said sex crime was a "huge problem" in pubs and clubs.
"We see it every week - repeated rape, attempted rape and sexual assault," she said.
A government spokeswoman said a taskforce established to tackle city crime including police, government and liquor licensing would investigate the problem.
She said licensees had legal and social obligations to minimise the risk of harm to patrons and their communities.
Australian Hoteliers Association Victoria chief Brian Kearney did not respond to inquiries.
Police and rape support groups say drunk and drug-affected women in bars are being targeted by sex predators and they believe reported figures are a fraction of the real number.
Now experts are calling for the urgent formation of a taskforce to deal with the sickening problem.
* Have you been the victim of a sexual assault at a pub or club? Tell us your story in the comments section below
The Brumby Government yesterday pledged to investigate.
Never-before-released data on pub and club offences shows there were 61 sexual attacks in Victorian licensed premises last financial year - 22 rapes and 39 sexual assaults.
At least 10 of the offences were committed in premises in Melbourne's CBD, but attacks were also recorded in regional centres including Echuca, Lorne and Ballarat and inner-city venues in Prahran, South Melbourne and Collingwood.
Most rapes took place in toilets, private rooms, alcoves and offices and sexual assaults happening anywhere from beer gardens to dance floors, police and sex abuse counsellors said.
The real number of sex crimes would be even higher as they were "notoriously unreported", police said.
"In the majority of cases the victim has been drinking heavily and these predators have preyed upon them in a vulnerable state," Sexual Crime Squad Det Acting Insp Robert Ridley said.
"These people are going out there and finding people vulnerable and taking advantage of them. They are sexual predators picking an easy target."
The Victorian Centre Against Sexual Assault also said it had anecdotal evidence of "many more" rapes occurring in licensed venues.
Reported cases included a woman in her 40s raped in a Prahran nightclub, a mid-20s woman raped in the male toilet of a western suburbs nightclub and a teenager raped in a regional hotel.
Drink spiking was suspected in some cases and tests found alcohol was involved in all but two of the rapes. More than half involved drugs.
Insp Ridley said the figures did not include instances where people had been followed from a pub or club and raped outside the premises or plied with drugs or alcohol and assaulted elsewhere. He also said the problem was widespread.
"You couldn't say it's concentrated in one area geographically, it's spread around Victoria," he said.
"People might think it's just a case of people putting drugs in drinks, but it also might be that they're drinking too much alcohol and letting their guard down or someone buying them a drink that has more effect than they expect."
CASA spokeswoman Karen Hogan said sex crime was a "huge problem" in pubs and clubs.
"We see it every week - repeated rape, attempted rape and sexual assault," she said.
A government spokeswoman said a taskforce established to tackle city crime including police, government and liquor licensing would investigate the problem.
She said licensees had legal and social obligations to minimise the risk of harm to patrons and their communities.
Australian Hoteliers Association Victoria chief Brian Kearney did not respond to inquiries.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25385316-661,00.html
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