FactCheck Q&A: Is domestic violence in Australia on the decline?

Research output: Contribution to journalOnline ResourceResearch

Abstract

[Extract] Domestic or intimate partner violence is a common problem in Australia. A reported one in six women, and one in 19 men, experience physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner in their lifetime.

Former politician Mark Latham raised the issue of domestic violence in a recent podcast. He didn’t actually use the term “decline” in his podcast in relation to domestic violence rates, but he did say surveys show women are safer than ever before, and told Channel 7 viewers recently that the rate of domestic assault and incidents has come down.

So how true it is for the audience member to say the data shows rates are declining?

To answer this, we can look to three key sources of national data that can be compared over time: intimate partner homicide figures collected by the Australian Institute of Criminology, the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Personal Safety Survey, and reported police statistics.
Original languageEnglish
JournalThe Conversation
Publication statusPublished - 3 Feb 2016

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