Victims of sexual assaults wanting to notify police but worried about a face-to-face conversation will no longer need to fill out a 14-page paper form.
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The redeveloped NSW Police Sexual Assault Reporting Option (SARO) will, from Friday, allow victims to upload images from dating websites and elsewhere and answer questions tailored to their experience in language other than English.
As with the previous paper option, reports can be anonymous and will only prompt a criminal investigation if the victim decides to do that.
"We understand and recognise that a successful prosecution is not always the desired outcome or the only measure of success," Commissioner Karen Webb said on Friday.
"Victims can report via SARO anonymously without further contact from police, or they can elect to be identified and request that police follow up in certain circumstances.
"We know that sexual violence continues to be under-reported, and we hope that by providing victims with alternative reporting options we will be better placed to understand sexual violence in the community, assist victims, and hold offenders accountable."
SARO, first launched in 2012, had required victim-survivors to print and complete a 14-page document and then email it to the State Crime Command's Sex Crimes Squad.
Its revamp comes almost two years after former Sydney schoolgirl Chanel Contos launched a petition around consent education and started publishing thousands of anonymous stories shared by young women about the assault and abuse they suffered during their school years.
That prompted NSW Police to launch a dedicated task force and a public call for victims to report their abuse, regardless of whether they wished to press charges or be identified.
Police acknowledged at the time the SARO form could be difficult to complete as survivors are asked to remember in detail what happened to them.
Victim support service Full Stop Australia said the new tool allowed survivors to return to making a more formal statement if and when they are ready.
"Full Stop Australia supports these improvements to increase the reporting of sexual violence incidents in our community and looks forward to continuing working to better our justice and support systems for survivors of sexual, domestic and family violence," Clinical and Client Services Tara Hunter said.
About 16 reports a week were made on SARO in 2022, up 15 a week in 2021.
Australian Associated Press
