‘Manosphere’ warnings as rates of family and sexual violence against Australian children rise sharply

Key points

• Sexual assaults against Australian children have accelerated sharply since the pandemic, according to University of Sydney research. Rates among boys aged 10 to 17 rose 15.7 per cent after 2021, while researchers had expected a fall.
• The study links the rise to factors including income inequality and online misogynistic communities, though it says no single cause can be identified. Family violence-related assault also increased steeply after 2021.
• Lead author Dr Lucy Grummitt said fragmented government data made the problem hard to track and called for a whole-of-government response.