Darwin MP Natasha Griggs was elected on a three word slogan, mindlessly bleating 'stop the boats'. Now, in the face of mounting evidence of sex crimes on the prison island concentration camps her government set up to hide unexpected arrivals from public view, her voice has gone silent on the issue of asylum seekers.

Systemic failures have become evident in the department's handling of serious allegations of sexual assault on Nauru, Manus and the mainland.

Reviews by Robert Cornall and Philip Moss into sexual assaults on Manus Island and Nauru have both emphasised that sexual violence in detention centres is under-reported.

Reporting and investigating allegations of sexual assault in detention centres is extremely difficult.

On Nauru, asylum seekers fear speaking out because of reprisals from guards. They have little faith in the ability of the Nauru police force to investigate sexual assaults adequately.

The assaults on Nauru continue to occur, with a female asylum seeker recently raising serious allegations about being sexually assaulted by locals while on day release.

“In a context like Nauru there’s not even a legislative environment for most of these claims.”