More than 1500 people have reportedly been sexually assaulted or harassed in mental health wards across Australia over the past six years.

Among them is 13-year-old girl Florence, not her real name, who was allegedly raped at Perth Children’s Hospital last year, ABC News reports.

She alleges a male patient assaulted her in a mental health ward where she was a patient, while medical staff gathered in a nearby nurse’s station.

“Knowing I’m not the only one genuinely shatters me,” she wrote in an essay about her experience.

“We were supposed to be protected.”

Earlier in the day the boy, also 13, allegedly told Florence he was going to “do stuff” to her that night.

“I was just frozen, knowing he was so much larger than me,” she said, recalling the incident.

Perth Children’s Hospital provided Florence’s family with a heavily redacted copy of a clinical incident review commissioned by WA’s Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS).

It found the nursing staff on duty that night did not do their required hourly checks between 12.30am and 3.30am.

The review also said CCTV captured vision of the boy crawling across the ward floor and entering Florence’s room about 12.30am.

Florence’s parents said they were told the nurses were afraid of the alleged rapist but they did not call the hospital’s security team for help.

The family is now considering legal action against the hospital over the incident.

ABC Investigations used freedom of information applications and publicly available data to establish the number of people assaulted in mental health wards.

It said the full extent of the problem remains unclear because there is no nationally consistent definition of such incidents and the data provided by state health departments was inconsistent.

Privacy laws also restrict the media from accessing hospital information.

CAHS reportedly confirmed that support was provided after the alleged incident involving Florence and a report was made to the authorities.

WA Police and CAHS have been contacted for comment.

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

– AAP