SYDNEY, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- More than half of all Australian women aged in their 20s have suffered from sexual violence, according to a report which shatters previous estimations of the prevalence of the crime.
The study, commissioned by Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS), examined data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) to gauge the rate of violence against women among three age groups.
The findings, released on Tuesday, revealed that 51 percent of women in their 20s had been victims, as had 34 percent of those aged in their 40s, and 26 percent aged from 68 to 73.
Among other key findings were that up to 45 percent of victims were likelier than other women to have high levels of financial stress along with heightened rates of chronic physical ailments and mental health issues.
The study also found that women aged in their 20s and 40s who had experienced childhood sexual violence, were twice as likely to become victims of similar attacks as adults.
ANROWS chief executive Padma Raman said the figures indicated the need for policymakers to "effectively build responses" to battle the crisis.
"The evidence is shocking, but it also shows that women connected to accessible healthcare services and strong social support experience better quality of life after sexual violence," Raman said.
Professor Deborah Loxton from the University of Newcastle, who led the research, also emphasized the need for women to have access to a network of formal and informal support.
"Our findings show that social supports can really make a difference in buffering the trauma of sexual violence," Loxton said.
"With that in mind, we need to make sure that at all levels -- in policy, practice and in the community -- we are thinking about how to promote connectedness and to keep women feeling supported and linked to family or friends and ensure appropriate mental and medical health services are accessible."
University of Newcastle senior analyst Peta Forder said the study was important in that it challenged "some often-held assumptions".
This research shows that sexual violence isn't a rarity, it happens across a woman's lifetime and sometimes starts in childhood, Forder said.
"The findings connecting sexual violence in childhood to re-victimization in adulthood need to be taken especially seriously." ■