New reported data reveals number of rape complaints in Sydney and Melbourne

Rape complaints in Sydney were twice as many as New York City, with Melbourne having 38 percent more. Greater Sydney recorded 2,899 rape complaints in the year to September 2017 and 1,993 in Melbourne, figures reportedly show.

This is according to data by NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), which notes that there were 1,446 reports across New York City last year. NYC has a population of 8.5 million. This is comparable to 4 million people in Sydney and 3.8 million in Melbourne.

The larger number of rape complaints recorded in Sydney was believed to have been due to Australians more willing to have sex crimes reported than those from NYC. University of Western Sydney’s Dr Michael Salter, a senior lecturer in criminology, told the Daily Telegraph that he suspected that the discrepancy in numbers was about greater willingness to report cases of sexual assault to the police.

Salter said that Aussies may trust their police more. "There might be an increased cultural willingness to report, and police in Australia may be more receptive to receiving those reports."

Salter’s theory is backed up by crime victimisation surveys. It is thought, however, that only one in 10 Australians report sexual assault cases.

Last month, reports about Australian men gang-raping a teenaged girl and filming it on a GoPro emerged. The incident reportedly took place in 2015 when Tristan Carlyle-Watson invited a 16-year-old to a house party over Facebook. He reportedly promised the girl that he will take good care of her, only for the teenager to find herself surrounded by up to eight men. Carlyle-Watson did nothing to intervene when many of them forced themselves upon her.

Convicted rapists Kurt Stevenson and Andrew Waters were jailed along with Carlyle-Watson for their roles in the incident. Judge Sharron Norton told the court that Stevenson and Waters both had intercourse with the girl.

A school principal who fled Australia recently made headlines after more than 70 sexual assault and rape allegations surfaced against her. She has been remanded in custody in Israel.

The woman, who cannot be named in Israel, worked as a teacher at a Melbourne school until 2008 before 74 allegations of sexual misconduct against students were levelled against her. Yehuda Frid, her defence lawyer, attacked the extradition process and Australian authorities, saying the Jerusalem District Court ruling would lead to “bad feelings.”