94 percent of motor vehicle thefts were reported but victims of sexual violence stayed silent.
The New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey interviewed 80,000 people about their experiences with crime and found 29 percent of respondents had experienced sexual violence in the last 12 months – with women three times as likely to be violated than men.
Almost 30 percent of the adult population said they had experienced sexual violence in their lifetime and a shocking 94 percent of assaults were not reported to police last year.
Ministry of Justice sector deputy secretary Tim Hampton says the results are “sobering”.
“The levels of crime being experienced and the number of victims is nothing for New Zealand to be proud of,” he said on Wednesday.
“The sexual violence data in this report reinforces a lot of what we already know about victims and the level of non-reporting to police.”
For comparison, 94 percent of motor vehicle thefts were reported but victims of sexual violence stayed silent.