FACT SHEET

At a glance: Respondents’ experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic

This resource captures the findings from the ANROWS-funded research report, Intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey of women in Australia, a nation-wide study based on a survey of 10,000 women about their experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) during the first 12 months of the pandemic.

The study, led by Hayley Boxall and Anthony Morgan at the Australian Institute of Criminology, builds on and contributes to existing research in this area, and provides the most comprehensive survey of women’s experiences of IPV during the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

This resource highlights the diverse and complex experiences of IPV among women and offers insights into:

• the prevalence of IPV among women in a relationship
• the extensive range of the forms of violence experienced
• the impact of the pandemic for women experiencing IPV on seeking help.

Key findings of the study include:

• First-time violence and the escalation of violence coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and many women attributed these changes to factors associated with the pandemic.
• One in ten women had experienced technology-facilitated abuse perpetrated by their current or most recent partner in the last 12 months.
• Many women were experiencing patterns of ongoing violence and abuse, in the context of coercive control, rather than isolated and discrete forms of IPV.

This resource provides guidance for policymakers and practitioners in further understanding women’s experiences of IPV during the first 12 months of the pandemic. This fact sheet, and the research report it is based on, is important for planning and delivering services in future phases of the pandemic, and beyond, and for informing responses to other pandemics and natural disasters that may occur.

The key findings in this resource are drawn from Stage 1 of a larger national study. Stage 2 of the study will focus on the economic security of women experiencing IPV during the pandemic. You can read the full report from Stage 1 of the study here. You can also read about the larger national study here.

 

Suggested citation

Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. (2021). At a glance: Respondents’ experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic [Fact sheet]. ANROWS.