FlagPost, March
Joanne Simon-Davies
This month focuses on domestic and family violence.
Forthcoming releases
If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail.
(a) Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA)
Note: Release dates may be subject to change without notice.
After the latest key economic statistics? Visit the Parliamentary Library’s Key Economic and Social Indicators Dashboard (KESI).
Recent reports on domestic and family violence
Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major health and welfare issue in Australia and can have lifelong impacts on victims and perpetrators. It can affect people of all ages and backgrounds, but predominantly affects women and children.
Although much is known about many aspects of family and domestic violence, there are data gaps that need to be filled to present a comprehensive picture of its extent and impact in Australia. Some of these gaps include the under-reporting by victims; lack of appropriate screening by service providers and the incomplete identification of specific at-risk populations including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; people with disability; those within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community; and people within the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALD).
On the 15th March 2023, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the latest iteration of the Personal Safety Survey (2021–22), which collected information from persons aged 18 years and over about the nature and extent of their experiences of violence. This including detailed information about experiences of:
- physical and sexual violence
- violence, emotional abuse, and economic abuse by a cohabiting partner
- stalking
- sexual harassment
- childhood abuse and witnessing parental violence before the age of 15
Additional state/territory data on sexual harassment, stalking, and violence by an intimate partner or family member is available, noting that this data is only available by females.
Key Statistics:
- An estimated 8 million Australians (41%) have experienced violence (physical and/or sexual) since the age of 15.
- 31% of women and 42% of men have experienced physical violence
- 22% of women and 6% of men have experienced sexual violence
An estimated 4.2 million people aged 18 years and over (21%) have experienced violence, emotional abuse, or economic abuse by a cohabiting partner since the age of 15. This incorporates 2.7 million women and 1.5 million men.
Men were more likely than women to experience violence by a stranger (30% of men compared with 11% of women).
Table 1: Violence prevalence rates by men and women aged 18 years and over, 2021–22
| Women | Men |
| Prevalence since the age of 15 | |
| 2 in 5 women experienced violence (39%) | 2 in 5 men experienced violence (43%) |
| 1 in 5 women experienced sexual violence (22%) | 1 in 16 men experienced sexual violence (6.1%) |
| 1 in 3 women experienced physical violence (31%) | 2 in 5 men experienced physical violence (42%) |
| 1 in 5 women experienced stalking (20%) | 1 in 15 men experienced stalking (6.8%) |
| Prevalence of intimate partner and family member violence since the age of 15 | |
| 1 in 4 women experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member (27%) | 1 in 8 men experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member (12%) |
| 1 in 12 women experienced violence by a family member (8.1%) | 1 in 17 men experienced violence by a family member (5.9%) |
| 1 in 4 women experienced violence by an intimate partner (23%) | 1 in 14 men experienced violence by an intimate partner (7.3%) |
| 1 in 11 women experienced violence by a boyfriend, girlfriend, or date (9.3%) | 1 in 44 men experienced violence by a boyfriend, girlfriend, or date (*2.3%) |
| 1 in 6 women experienced cohabiting partner violence (17%) | 1 in 18 men experienced cohabiting partner violence (5.5%) |
| 1 in 4 women experienced cohabiting partner emotional abuse (23%) | 1 in 7 men experienced cohabiting partner emotional abuse (14%) |
| 1 in 6 women experienced cohabiting partner economic abuse (16%) | 1 in 13 men experienced cohabiting partner economic abuse (7.8%) |
*Estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety Survey, 2020–21 (Canberra, ABS, 2023)
Other relevant reports
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
- Family, domestic and sexual violence data in Australia
- Hospitalisations for family and domestic violence
- Family and domestic violence crisis payments
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS)
- A life course approach to determining the prevalence and impact of sexual violence in Australia: Findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health
- National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey, 2021
- Improving family violence legal and support services for Indigenous women
- You can’t pour from an empty cup: Strengthening our service and systems responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who experience domestic and family violence
Queensland University of Technology
University of Melbourne
- The unexpected drop in intimate partner violence during Covid
- Domestic violence linked to alcohol use is a national emergency
Interested in finding out what the latest statistics are telling us about the Australian economy and population? Each month the Parliamentary Library publishes a Flag Post article listing new reports on a wide variety of topics. The list includes important upcoming ABS releases and other research organisations and government departments.
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