The most comprehensive Australian study of family violence to date reveals 2.2 million women reported violence perpetrated by a male partner
One in four women has experienced
violence at the hands of an intimate partner, the most comprehensive national
study of interpersonal family violence carried out to date has found.
The
findings are being released by Australia’s National Research Organisation for
Women’s Safety on Thursday, the result of a new and comprehensive analysis of
existing data from 17,505 respondents to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’
2012 personal safety survey.
“The Australian Bureau of Statistics had
previously published data that found one in six women had experienced violence
from a partner, but this was based on women who lived with their partner only,”
said a lead author of the report, Dr Peta Cox.
“But when we added in the data on boyfriends,
girlfriends and date relationships, we saw a really big shift in the estimate.
This more inclusive statistic is really valuable to know, because we know
violence isn’t just happening in cohabiting relationships.”
While 694,100 men had experienced violence by
a female intimate partner, close to 2.2 million women reported violence
perpetrated by a male intimate partner, the nationally representative data
revealed.
Just looking at cohabiting relationships –
that is, people living with a current or former partner – one in six women
experienced intimate partner violence compared with one in 20 men.
Gender remained the most substantial variable
when considering differences in patterns of victimisation and perpetration, the
report found. In comparison with men, women were significantly more likely to
have experienced sexual violence, whether a sexual assault or sexual threat.
Of women who had been sexually assaulted, four
out of 10 went to see a doctor after their most recent assault, and 8,800 women
suffered a miscarriage as an injury from their most recent sexual assault.
Since the age of 15, 1.7 million women had
experienced sexual violence, compared with 400,00 men, the analysis found. The
difference in rates of sexual violence for men and women was statistically
significant and therefore was not a result of chance.
Men were more likely to be victims of physical
violence, which was experienced by one in two men and one in three women, the
study found, and both women and men were more than three times as likely to be
physically assaulted by a man than by a woman.
“Both women and men were more likely to suffer
fractured or broken bones/teeth when their assailant was male than when they
were assaulted by a female perpetrator,” the report found.
The comprehensive study also examines time
taken off work, victims’ experiences through the court system, and the the
presence of alcohol and other drugs in cases of violence. While it uses
existing Australian Bureau of Statistics data, much of it had not been publicly
available, or been comprehensively analysed until now.
The report of the findings will be launched in
Sydney on Thursday by the New South Wales minister for the prevention of
domestic violence and sexual assault, Pru Goward.
Alison MacDonald, the policy and program
manager for Domestic Violence Victoria, said the research “drills down better
than we ever have done so before into the problem, and gives validity to what
we know and see on the ground”.
“Having this level of analysis is so helpful,
as it coincides with an interesting point historically, where we’ve never
before had such a focus on this issue,” she said. “It will help with the
community realisation about how significant an issue this really is.”
• If you or
someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, family or domestic
violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800respect.org.au
