By Belinda Nolan
Shocking figures obtained by Star reveal there were more than 180 sex attacks committed in Brimbank during the last financial year, the highest of any western suburbs municipality.
Between July 2009 and June 2010 Brimbank was the scene of a staggering 188 sex crimes, including 65 rapes and 123 sexual assaults. Alarmingly, a third of victims were children, with 68 attacked in the municipality in the space of a year.
There is at least one rape and one sexual assault committed in the city each month, with the figures rising as high as 18 rapes and 35 sexual assaults in September 2009.
Across the West, including Brimbank, Wyndham, Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay and Melton there were almost 600 sex attacks reported in the past financial year, an average of 11 a week. But the figures could be the tip of the iceberg, with many sex crimes going unreported.
Wyndham had the second highest number of sex crimes, with more than 130 reported during the 12 month period, including 52 rapes and 79 sexual assaults.
Many of the attacks were committed in the open, with Brimbank again topping the list with 35 rapes and sexual assaults committed in public.
In December last year, police arrested a 29-year-old man accused of raping a woman in the car park at Keilor’s Horseshoe Bend Farm. Seven incidents in the West involved victims being gang raped.
Ursula Benstead, a senior counsellor at the Western Region Centre Against Sexual Assault said her service dealt with around 100 clients each week.
“We prioritise certain groups including those aged 12-18, people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. In the last three weeks, we’ve had 12 priorities on the board every week,” she said.
But Brimbank Police Inspector Michael Grainger told Star he was heartened by the city’s high figures.
“It’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m actually very pleased with the figures because it means that more people are reporting these crimes,” Insp Grainger said.
