Quick reference guide Violence against women: Accurate use of key statistics
Introduction
Note: This is a 2018 ANROWS resource with an update planned in 2024. Please check original data sources for updated statistics.
This is a quick reference guide to key statistics on violence against women in Australia for use by the media and other commentators including government officials, academics, sector leaders and community advocates. These stakeholders play a significant role in helping to shift the attitudes, norms and behaviours that enable, excuse or minimise the extent and impact of violence against women and children.
Statistics are often at the centre of discussions of violence against women. However, the data reflecting the reality of women’s experiences of violence are complex and can easily be reported inaccurately due to time and other pressures.
This resource is aimed at ensuring that relevant statistics are interpreted with care and is based on the most reliable data available in the field.[1]
It is also important to acknowledge the lives and experiences of the women and children affected by domestic violence and sexual assault, who are represented in this resource. Data tells a particular type of story: one that may seem depersonalised at times. While this resource highlights Australia’s data on violence against women, it is important to recognise the individual stories of courage, hope and resilience that form the backdrop of these statistics.
Caution: Some people may find parts of this content confronting or distressing.
Recommended support services include: 1800 RESPECT – 1800 737 732,
Lifeline – 13 11 14
Definitions
The following definitions are those used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2017):
Violence: “any incident involving the occurrence, attempt or threat of either physical or sexual assault experienced by a person since the age of 15.”
Sexual violence: includes two key components: sexual assault (acts of a sexual nature carried out against a person’s will, and which would be considered an offence under state and territory criminal law), and sexual threat (the threat of acts of a sexual nature that are made face-to-face where the person believes it was able to and likely to be carried out).
Intimate partner: “a current partner (living with), previous partner (has lived with), boyfriend/girlfriend/date and ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend (never lived with).”
Partner: a subset of ‘intimate partner’ that refers to “a person the respondent lives with, or lived with at some point, in a married or de facto relationship”. In this context, the term ‘partner’ may also be described as a ‘co-habiting partner’.
The key distinction is that the term ‘intimate partner’ includes dates and current and ex-boyfriends and girlfriends with whom the respondent has not lived.
Uses and misuses of common statistics
Accurate Statement Statistical Basis Inaccurate Statement Why this is Inaccurate Approximately one quarter of women in Australia have experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner. 
Since the age of 15, 23 percent of women have experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner or ex-partner they may or may not have been living with
(ABS, 2017). One in three women experience domestic violence. 
‘One in three’ is an accurate description of the proportion of women in Australia who have experienced at least one incident of violence by a perpetrator of any type (i.e. not necessarily a partner) (ABS, 2017). Most victims/survivors of intimate partner violence are women. 
Women are almost three times more likely to have experienced violence by a partner since the age of 15. 574 600 men reported experiencing intimate partner violence since the age of 15, compared to 1.6 million women (ABS, 2017).
Women experience more violence
than men.
If you examine all types of violence, men experience more incidents than women by any type of perpetrator, but women experience more violence from
a partner.Most of the violence against men is perpetrated by other men (ABS, 2017). Men and women tend to experience violence in different contexts. 
The majority of men reported that their most recent incident of physical assault by another man was perpetrated by a stranger. The location was most often a place of entertainment (28%) or an outside location (28%). In contrast, women stated that their most recent experience of physical assault by a man was someone that they knew (92%). In 65 percent of cases, this occurred while in their own home (ABS, 2017).
On average, one woman a week is killed by her intimate partner. 
In the 10 years from mid-2002 to mid-2012, 488 women in Australia were killed by their intimate partner (Cussen & Bryant, 2015). A further study for the period mid-2012 to mid-2014 confirmed this (Bryant & Bricknell, 2017). Two women a week are murdered by a partner. 
Higher rates have been reported using collections that include all violent deaths, not limited to homicide, and not limited to violence by an intimate partner (Bryant & Bricknell, 2017).
Accurate Representation Inaccurate Representation One in three women has experienced: - Physical violence perpetrated by another person, irrespective of the type of relationship (30.5%. ABS, 2017).
- Physical or sexual violence, or both, perpetrated by a man they know (31.1%. ABS, 2017).
One in three women are victims of domestic violence. 
Women are… - … more likely than men to experience violence by a partner (17% or 1.6 million women, compared to 6.1% or 547,600 of men. ABS, 2017).
- … more likely than men to experience sexual assault (17% or 1.6 million women, compared to 4.3% or 384,800 men. ABS, 2017).
- … most likely to experience physical assault in their home (for their most recent incident, 65% or 689,000 women. ABS, 2017).
- … more likely than men to be killed by an intimate partner (79% or 99 of a total of 126 people killed by an intimate partner were women. Bryant &
Bricknell, 2017).
Women are more likely than men to experience violence. (This is inaccurate because one in two men, compared to one in three women, experience violence perpetrated by anyone, irrespective of the relationship. ABS, 2017)
Useful statistics
Prevalence
Violence against women is a widespread problem in Australia.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Since the age of 15:
- Approximately one in four women (23% or 2.2 million) has experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner (intimate partner = a current or previous partner with whom the respondent lives or has lived, or a current or former boyfriend, girlfriend or date with whom the respondent has not lived with).
- One in six women (17% or 1.6 million) has experienced at least one incident of violence by a partner (partner = a person whom the respondent lives with, or lived with at some point, in a married or de facto relationship).
- Three in ten women (30.5% or 2.85 million) have experienced physical violence (perpetrated by another person, irrespective of the type of relationship).
- Approximately one in five women (18% or 1.7 million) has experienced sexual violence (the occurrence, attempt or threat of sexual assault).
- One in six women (17% or 1.6 million) has experienced an episode of stalking (any unwanted contact or attention on more than one occasion, or multiple types of unwanted contact or behaviour experienced on one occasion, that could have caused fear or distress).
- Approximately one in four women (23% or 2.2 million) has experienced emotional abuse by a partner.
Across their lifetime:
- One in two women (53% or 5 million) has experienced sexual harassment (experienced or has been subjected to one or more selected behaviours which they found improper or unwanted, which made them feel uncomfortable, and/or were offensive due to their sexual nature).
Compared to men, women are at greater risk of physical and sexual violence by a partner.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Since the age of 15:
- Approximately one in four women (23% or 2.2 million) compared to one in thirteen men (7.8% or 703,700) has experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner.
Since the age of 15:
- One in six women (17% or 1.6 million) compared to one in sixteen men (6.1% or 547,600) has experienced at least one incident of violence by a partner.
- Women accounted for three-quarters of the people (17.3% or 1,625,000) who experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15, compared to men who accounted for one-quarter (6.1% or 547,600) of those people.
- Approximately one in five women (18% or 1.7 million) compared to one in twenty men (4.7% or 428,800) has experienced sexual violence.
On average one woman a week in Australia is killed by an intimate partner.
Source: Australian Institute of Criminology National Homicide Monitoring Program (Cussen & Bryant, 2015).
In the 10 years from mid-2002 to mid-2012:
- 488 women in Australia were killed by an intimate partner.
- 75 percent (488) of total victims (654) killed by an intimate partner were women.
Source: Australian Institute of Criminology National Homicide Monitoring Program (Bryant & Bricknell, 2017).
In the two years from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014:
- 99 women in Australia were killed by an intimate partner.
Approximately four in five (79% or 99) of total victims (126) killed by an intimate partner were women.
Dynamics
Women are much more likely to experience violence by someone they know than by a stranger.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
- When asked about their most recent incident of physical assault by a male, just over nine out of ten women (92% or 977,600) reported they were physically assaulted by a man they know.
- For those women, the most common known perpetrator (42%) was a
former partner. - Since the age of 15, one in six women (16% or 1.5 million) has experienced sexual violence by a male they know.
- When asked about their most recent incident of sexual assault, just under 9 out of ten women (87% or 553,700) reported they were sexually assaulted by a man they know.
- For these women, the most common known perpetrator was a former partner (26% or 163,100).
Women often experience multiple incidents of violence across their lifetime.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Since the age of 15:
- 68 percent (931,800) of women who have experienced violence by a previous partner have experienced more than one incident of violence by that partner.
- 54 percent (149,600) of women who experience violence from a current partner have experienced more than one incident of violence by that partner.
Partner violence often occurs when women are pregnant.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
- An estimated 187,800 women who have experienced violence by a current partner were pregnant at some stage during the relationship. Of these women, nearly one in five (18% or 34,500) experienced violence during their pregnancy.
- Nearly half (48% or 325,900) of women who have experienced violence by a previous partner and who were pregnant at some point in that relationship, experienced violence during their pregnancy.
Impacts
Intimate partner violence is the greatest health risk factor (greater than smoking, alcohol and obesity) for women in their reproductive years.
Source: 2011 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Burden of Disease Study (Ayre et al. 2016; Webster, 2016)
- Intimate partner violence contributes more to the burden of disease (the impact of illness, disability and premature death) of adult women in their reproductive age (18-44 years) than any other risk factor. It contributes an estimated 5.1 percent of the burden for women aged 18-44 years.
- In 2010-12, approximately 41 percent of hospitalised assaults on women were perpetrated by an intimate partner.
Violence against women and their children results in major personal, government, and business costs.
Source: The cost of violence against women and their children in Australia (KPMG, 2016)
- The total annual cost of violence against women and their children in Australia was estimated to be $22 billion in 2015-16.
Source: 2015-16 Specialist homelessness services collection (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017)
- In 2015-16, 38 percent of all people requesting assistance from specialist homelessness agencies were escaping domestic or family violence (106,000 clients). This included 31,000 children aged under 15 and 66,000 women.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience high rates of violence with significant health impacts.
Source: 2014-15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (ABS, 2016)
In the 12 months prior to the ABS survey, one in seven Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women had experienced physical assault. Of these, approximately a quarter indicated their most recent incident was perpetrated by a partner they have lived with.
Source: 2011 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Burden of Disease Study (Webster, 2016)
Intimate partner violence contributes an estimated 10.9 percent to burden of disease in Indigenous women aged 18-44 years. This is more than any other
risk factor.
Children
Children often see or hear violence between their parents.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Since the age of 15:
- 50 percent (60,300) of women who had children in their care when they experienced violence by a current co-habiting partner reported that the children had seen or heard the violence.
- 68 percent (418,200) of women who had children in their care when they experienced violence by a previous co-habiting partner reported that the children had seen or heard the violence.
- Therefore, 65 percent of women who had children in their care when they experienced violence by a current or former partner, reported that the children had seen or heard the violence.
Domestic and family violence is a factor in many child protection cases.
Source: PATRICIA project (Humphreys & Healey, 2017; Slinky, Katz et al. 2017)
In the four years from July 2010 to June 2014, child protection services in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia received more than 335,000 reports of child maltreatment concerns, 16 percent of which included a concern about domestic violence.
Help seeking
Many women do not seek help about their experience of violence.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Of women who have experienced violence by a current partner since the age of 15:
- Just over half (54% or 149,700) had sought advice or support about the violence they experienced.
- 82 percent (225,700) had never contacted the police.
Of women who have experienced violence by a former partner since the age of 15:
- 63 percent (864,100) had sought advice or support about the violence
they experienced. - 65 percent (888,100) had never contacted the police.
Nine out of ten women who experienced sexual assault by a male (87% or 553,900) did not contact the police about the most recent incident.
Of the 85,700 women who did contact the police, one quarter (27% or 23,500) reported that the perpetrator was charged.
Footnotes
- The most reliable prevalence data is, by necessity and methodology, focused on the whole Australian population. ANROWS has identified key limitations and possible solutions to data gaps related to priority populations in its publication, Invisible women, invisible violence: Understanding and improving data on the experiences of domestic and family violence and sexual assault for diverse groups of women: State of knowledge paper. ↑
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social survey, 2014-15. Canberra, ACT: Author. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4714.0.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017). Personal safety, Australia, 2016. Canberra, ACT: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4906.0
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2016a). Australian burden of disease study: Impact and causes of illness and death in Australia 2011. Canberra, ACT: Author.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2016b). Burden of disease. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-statistics/health-conditions-disability-deaths/burden-of-disease/overview
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2016c). National hospital morbidity database (NHMD). Retrieved from http://meteor.aihw.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/394352
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2017). Specialist Homelessness Services 2015-16. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/homelessness-services/specialist-homelessness-services/data
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia (Cat. no. FDV 2). Canberra, ACT: Author.
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. (2017). Personal Safety Survey 2016 fact sheet. Retrieved from https://d2c0ikyv46o3b1.cloudfront.net/anrows.org.au/ANROWS%20PSS2016%20Fact%20Sheet%20HR.pdf
Ayre, J., Lum On, M., Webster, K., Gourley, M., & Moon, L. (2016). Examination of the burden of disease of intimate partner violence against women in 2011: Final report (ANROWS Horizons, 06/2016). Sydney, NSW: ANROWS.
Bryant, W., & Bricknell, S. (2017). Homicide in Australia 2012-13 and 2013-14: National Homicide Monitoring Program report. Canberra, ACT: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Council of Australian Governments. (2011). The national plan to reduce violence against women and their children: Including the first three-year action plan. Canberra: FAHCSIA.
Cox, P. (2016). Violence against women in Australia: Additional analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Personal Safety Survey, 2012 (ANROWS Horizons, 01.01/2016 Rev. Ed.). Sydney, NSW: ANROWS.
Cussen, T., & Bryant, W. (2015). Domestic/family homicide in Australia (Research in practice, no. 38). Canberra, ACT: Australian Institute of Criminology.
Humphreys, C., & Healey, L. (2017) PAThways and Research In Collaborative Inter-Agency practice: Collaborative work across the child protection and specialist domestic and family violence interface: Final Report. (ANROWS Horizons, 03/2017). Sydney: ANROWS.
KPMG. (2016). The cost of violence against women and their children in Australia: Final detailed report. Sydney, NSW: Author.
Mouzos, J., & Makkai, T. (2004). Women’s experiences of male violence. Australian Institute of Criminology, Research and Public Policy Series (56), 28.
Slinky, A., Ma, J., Katz, I., Humphreys, C., & Healey, L. (2017). The PATRICIA Project: Summary of the Pathways component. Sydney, NSW: ANROWS.
Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision. (2016). Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage: Key indicators 2016. Canberra, ACT: Productivity Commission.
Sutherland, G., McCormack, A., Pirkis, J., Vaughan, C., Dunne-Breen, M., Easteal, P., & Holland, K. (2016). Media representations of violence against women and their children: Final Report (ANROWS Horizons, 03/2016). Sydney: ANROWS.
UN Women. (2011). Violence against women prevalence data: Surveys by country. Retrieved from http://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/vaw_prevalence_matrix_15april_2011.pdf
Webster, K. (2016). A preventable burden: Measuring and addressing the prevalence and health impacts of intimate partner violence in Australian women: Key findings and future directions (ANROWS Compass, 07/2016). Sydney: ANROWS.
Webster, K., Pennay, P., Bricknall, R., Diemer, K., Flood, M., Powell, A., & Ward, A. (2014). Australians’ attitudes to violence against women: Findings from the 2013 National Community Attitudes towards Violence Against Women Survey (NCAS). Retrieved from https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/2013-national-community-attitudes-towards-violence-against-women-survey
ANROWS acknowledgements
This material was produced with funding from the Australian Government and the Australian state and territory governments. Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) gratefully acknowledges the financial and other support it has received from these governments, without which this work would not have been possible. The findings and views reported in this publication are those of ANROWS and cannot be attributed to the Australian Government, or any Australian state or territory government.
ANROWS would like to thank the following staff in particular for preparing this resource – Dr Peta Cox, Corina Backhouse, Dr Mayet Costello and Cassandra Dawes. ANROWS would also like to thank all the external contributors, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the ANROWS Practitioner Engagement Group, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australian Institute of Criminology, the University of Melbourne, and the National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey team at ANROWS.
Acknowledgement of Country
ANROWS acknowledges the traditional owners of the land across Australia on which we work and live. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders past, present, and future; and we value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture, and knowledge.
Suggested citation
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. (2018). Violence against women: Accurate use of key statistics (ANROWS Insights 05/2018). Sydney, NSW: ANROWS.
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Introduction
Note: This is a 2018 ANROWS resource with an update planned in 2024. Please check original data sources for updated statistics.
This is a quick reference guide to key statistics on violence against women in Australia for use by the media and other commentators including government officials, academics, sector leaders and community advocates. These stakeholders play a significant role in helping to shift the attitudes, norms and behaviours that enable, excuse or minimise the extent and impact of violence against women and children.
Statistics are often at the centre of discussions of violence against women. However, the data reflecting the reality of women’s experiences of violence are complex and can easily be reported inaccurately due to time and other pressures.
This resource is aimed at ensuring that relevant statistics are interpreted with care and is based on the most reliable data available in the field.[1]
It is also important to acknowledge the lives and experiences of the women and children affected by domestic violence and sexual assault, who are represented in this resource. Data tells a particular type of story: one that may seem depersonalised at times. While this resource highlights Australia’s data on violence against women, it is important to recognise the individual stories of courage, hope and resilience that form the backdrop of these statistics.
Caution: Some people may find parts of this content confronting or distressing.
Recommended support services include: 1800 RESPECT – 1800 737 732,
Lifeline – 13 11 14
Definitions
The following definitions are those used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2017):
Violence: “any incident involving the occurrence, attempt or threat of either physical or sexual assault experienced by a person since the age of 15.”
Sexual violence: includes two key components: sexual assault (acts of a sexual nature carried out against a person’s will, and which would be considered an offence under state and territory criminal law), and sexual threat (the threat of acts of a sexual nature that are made face-to-face where the person believes it was able to and likely to be carried out).
Intimate partner: “a current partner (living with), previous partner (has lived with), boyfriend/girlfriend/date and ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend (never lived with).”
Partner: a subset of ‘intimate partner’ that refers to “a person the respondent lives with, or lived with at some point, in a married or de facto relationship”. In this context, the term ‘partner’ may also be described as a ‘co-habiting partner’.
The key distinction is that the term ‘intimate partner’ includes dates and current and ex-boyfriends and girlfriends with whom the respondent has not lived.
Uses and misuses of common statistics
| Accurate Statement | Statistical Basis | Inaccurate Statement | Why this is Inaccurate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approximately one quarter of women in Australia have experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner.
| Since the age of 15, 23 percent of women have experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner or ex-partner they may or may not have been living with (ABS, 2017). | One in three women experience domestic violence.
| ‘One in three’ is an accurate description of the proportion of women in Australia who have experienced at least one incident of violence by a perpetrator of any type (i.e. not necessarily a partner) (ABS, 2017). |
| Most victims/survivors of intimate partner violence are women.
| Women are almost three times more likely to have experienced violence by a partner since the age of 15. 574 600 men reported experiencing intimate partner violence since the age of 15, compared to 1.6 million women (ABS, 2017). | Women experience more violence than men. | If you examine all types of violence, men experience more incidents than women by any type of perpetrator, but women experience more violence from a partner.Most of the violence against men is perpetrated by other men (ABS, 2017). |
| Men and women tend to experience violence in different contexts.
| The majority of men reported that their most recent incident of physical assault by another man was perpetrated by a stranger. The location was most often a place of entertainment (28%) or an outside location (28%). In contrast, women stated that their most recent experience of physical assault by a man was someone that they knew (92%). In 65 percent of cases, this occurred while in their own home (ABS, 2017). | ||
| On average, one woman a week is killed by her intimate partner.
| In the 10 years from mid-2002 to mid-2012, 488 women in Australia were killed by their intimate partner (Cussen & Bryant, 2015). A further study for the period mid-2012 to mid-2014 confirmed this (Bryant & Bricknell, 2017). | Two women a week are murdered by a partner.
| Higher rates have been reported using collections that include all violent deaths, not limited to homicide, and not limited to violence by an intimate partner (Bryant & Bricknell, 2017). |
| Accurate Representation | Inaccurate Representation |
|---|---|
One in three women has experienced:
| One in three women are victims of domestic violence.
|
Women are…
| Women are more likely than men to experience violence. (This is inaccurate because one in two men, compared to one in three women, experience violence perpetrated by anyone, irrespective of the relationship. ABS, 2017)
|
Useful statistics
Prevalence
Violence against women is a widespread problem in Australia.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Since the age of 15:
- Approximately one in four women (23% or 2.2 million) has experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner (intimate partner = a current or previous partner with whom the respondent lives or has lived, or a current or former boyfriend, girlfriend or date with whom the respondent has not lived with).
- One in six women (17% or 1.6 million) has experienced at least one incident of violence by a partner (partner = a person whom the respondent lives with, or lived with at some point, in a married or de facto relationship).
- Three in ten women (30.5% or 2.85 million) have experienced physical violence (perpetrated by another person, irrespective of the type of relationship).
- Approximately one in five women (18% or 1.7 million) has experienced sexual violence (the occurrence, attempt or threat of sexual assault).
- One in six women (17% or 1.6 million) has experienced an episode of stalking (any unwanted contact or attention on more than one occasion, or multiple types of unwanted contact or behaviour experienced on one occasion, that could have caused fear or distress).
- Approximately one in four women (23% or 2.2 million) has experienced emotional abuse by a partner.
Across their lifetime:
- One in two women (53% or 5 million) has experienced sexual harassment (experienced or has been subjected to one or more selected behaviours which they found improper or unwanted, which made them feel uncomfortable, and/or were offensive due to their sexual nature).
Compared to men, women are at greater risk of physical and sexual violence by a partner.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Since the age of 15:
- Approximately one in four women (23% or 2.2 million) compared to one in thirteen men (7.8% or 703,700) has experienced at least one incident of violence by an intimate partner.
Since the age of 15:
- One in six women (17% or 1.6 million) compared to one in sixteen men (6.1% or 547,600) has experienced at least one incident of violence by a partner.
- Women accounted for three-quarters of the people (17.3% or 1,625,000) who experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15, compared to men who accounted for one-quarter (6.1% or 547,600) of those people.
- Approximately one in five women (18% or 1.7 million) compared to one in twenty men (4.7% or 428,800) has experienced sexual violence.
On average one woman a week in Australia is killed by an intimate partner.
Source: Australian Institute of Criminology National Homicide Monitoring Program (Cussen & Bryant, 2015).
In the 10 years from mid-2002 to mid-2012:
- 488 women in Australia were killed by an intimate partner.
- 75 percent (488) of total victims (654) killed by an intimate partner were women.
Source: Australian Institute of Criminology National Homicide Monitoring Program (Bryant & Bricknell, 2017).
In the two years from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2014:
- 99 women in Australia were killed by an intimate partner.
Approximately four in five (79% or 99) of total victims (126) killed by an intimate partner were women.
Dynamics
Women are much more likely to experience violence by someone they know than by a stranger.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
- When asked about their most recent incident of physical assault by a male, just over nine out of ten women (92% or 977,600) reported they were physically assaulted by a man they know.
- For those women, the most common known perpetrator (42%) was a
former partner. - Since the age of 15, one in six women (16% or 1.5 million) has experienced sexual violence by a male they know.
- When asked about their most recent incident of sexual assault, just under 9 out of ten women (87% or 553,700) reported they were sexually assaulted by a man they know.
- For these women, the most common known perpetrator was a former partner (26% or 163,100).
Women often experience multiple incidents of violence across their lifetime.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Since the age of 15:
- 68 percent (931,800) of women who have experienced violence by a previous partner have experienced more than one incident of violence by that partner.
- 54 percent (149,600) of women who experience violence from a current partner have experienced more than one incident of violence by that partner.
Partner violence often occurs when women are pregnant.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
- An estimated 187,800 women who have experienced violence by a current partner were pregnant at some stage during the relationship. Of these women, nearly one in five (18% or 34,500) experienced violence during their pregnancy.
- Nearly half (48% or 325,900) of women who have experienced violence by a previous partner and who were pregnant at some point in that relationship, experienced violence during their pregnancy.
Impacts
Intimate partner violence is the greatest health risk factor (greater than smoking, alcohol and obesity) for women in their reproductive years.
Source: 2011 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Burden of Disease Study (Ayre et al. 2016; Webster, 2016)
- Intimate partner violence contributes more to the burden of disease (the impact of illness, disability and premature death) of adult women in their reproductive age (18-44 years) than any other risk factor. It contributes an estimated 5.1 percent of the burden for women aged 18-44 years.
- In 2010-12, approximately 41 percent of hospitalised assaults on women were perpetrated by an intimate partner.
Violence against women and their children results in major personal, government, and business costs.
Source: The cost of violence against women and their children in Australia (KPMG, 2016)
- The total annual cost of violence against women and their children in Australia was estimated to be $22 billion in 2015-16.
Source: 2015-16 Specialist homelessness services collection (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017)
- In 2015-16, 38 percent of all people requesting assistance from specialist homelessness agencies were escaping domestic or family violence (106,000 clients). This included 31,000 children aged under 15 and 66,000 women.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience high rates of violence with significant health impacts.
Source: 2014-15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (ABS, 2016)
In the 12 months prior to the ABS survey, one in seven Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women had experienced physical assault. Of these, approximately a quarter indicated their most recent incident was perpetrated by a partner they have lived with.
Source: 2011 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Burden of Disease Study (Webster, 2016)
Intimate partner violence contributes an estimated 10.9 percent to burden of disease in Indigenous women aged 18-44 years. This is more than any other
risk factor.
Children
Children often see or hear violence between their parents.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Since the age of 15:
- 50 percent (60,300) of women who had children in their care when they experienced violence by a current co-habiting partner reported that the children had seen or heard the violence.
- 68 percent (418,200) of women who had children in their care when they experienced violence by a previous co-habiting partner reported that the children had seen or heard the violence.
- Therefore, 65 percent of women who had children in their care when they experienced violence by a current or former partner, reported that the children had seen or heard the violence.
Domestic and family violence is a factor in many child protection cases.
Source: PATRICIA project (Humphreys & Healey, 2017; Slinky, Katz et al. 2017)
In the four years from July 2010 to June 2014, child protection services in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia received more than 335,000 reports of child maltreatment concerns, 16 percent of which included a concern about domestic violence.
Help seeking
Many women do not seek help about their experience of violence.
Source: 2016 Personal Safety Survey (ABS, 2017)
Of women who have experienced violence by a current partner since the age of 15:
- Just over half (54% or 149,700) had sought advice or support about the violence they experienced.
- 82 percent (225,700) had never contacted the police.
Of women who have experienced violence by a former partner since the age of 15:
- 63 percent (864,100) had sought advice or support about the violence
they experienced. - 65 percent (888,100) had never contacted the police.
Nine out of ten women who experienced sexual assault by a male (87% or 553,900) did not contact the police about the most recent incident.
Of the 85,700 women who did contact the police, one quarter (27% or 23,500) reported that the perpetrator was charged.
Footnotes
- The most reliable prevalence data is, by necessity and methodology, focused on the whole Australian population. ANROWS has identified key limitations and possible solutions to data gaps related to priority populations in its publication, Invisible women, invisible violence: Understanding and improving data on the experiences of domestic and family violence and sexual assault for diverse groups of women: State of knowledge paper. ↑
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ANROWS acknowledgements
This material was produced with funding from the Australian Government and the Australian state and territory governments. Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) gratefully acknowledges the financial and other support it has received from these governments, without which this work would not have been possible. The findings and views reported in this publication are those of ANROWS and cannot be attributed to the Australian Government, or any Australian state or territory government.
ANROWS would like to thank the following staff in particular for preparing this resource – Dr Peta Cox, Corina Backhouse, Dr Mayet Costello and Cassandra Dawes. ANROWS would also like to thank all the external contributors, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the ANROWS Practitioner Engagement Group, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australian Institute of Criminology, the University of Melbourne, and the National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey team at ANROWS.
Acknowledgement of Country
ANROWS acknowledges the traditional owners of the land across Australia on which we work and live. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders past, present, and future; and we value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture, and knowledge.
Suggested citation
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. (2018). Violence against women: Accurate use of key statistics (ANROWS Insights 05/2018). Sydney, NSW: ANROWS.
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