The Intoxication Penalty: Substance Use, Crime Victimisation, and Barriers to Reporting in Australia

People who use alcohol and other drugs (AOD) experience crime at disproportionately high rates, yet their engagement with the justice system and the barriers they face remain poorly understood. This study examined AOD use, experiences of crime as a victim-survivor, and justice system engagement among a community sample of Australian adults (N=253). Participants completed a cross-sectional online survey assessing AOD use, psychological distress, perceptions of intoxicated victim-survivors, past experiences of crime, reporting behaviour, and justice system outcomes. The majority of participants reported having experienced a crime (61.3%), with assault, sexual offences, and theft among the most common. Just over half of victim-survivors reported the crime to police. Being under the influence of substances at the time of the crime and sexual offence victimisation independently predicted not reporting to police, with 74% and 64% lower adjusted odds of reporting, respectively. Consistent with this, one in five victim-survivors who were under the influence reported that substance use had prevented them from reporting; scepticism about police was the primary reason given for not reporting (52%). Victim-survivors also reported higher drug use screening (DUDIT) scores and higher rates of using substances to cope than non-victim-survivors, while no differences were observed for alcohol use. These are cross-sectional associations and cannot establish direction of effect. There was near consensus that substance type influences justice system treatment (86.5%), reflecting broadly held perceptions that intoxicated victim-survivors face substantial barriers within the criminal justice system. Among those who reported, nearly two-thirds rated their experience with the criminal justice system unfavourably (62.4%). These findings highlight the need for trauma-informed, AOD-sensitive approaches across police, legal, and health contexts, and for systemic reform to better support victim-survivors who were under the influence at the time of a crime.