Accurate Statistics

Overview

Public discussion of domestic and family violence in Australia often centres on a single narrative. The statistics below, drawn from peer‑reviewed research and Australian government data, are presented to give a fuller, evidence‑based picture — including findings that are frequently overlooked in mainstream coverage.

All figures are cited inline and listed in full in the References section at the end of the article.

Key Statistics

1. Initiation of violence in intimate relationships

Women initiate violence in anywhere from 70% (Fiebert 2014) to 83% of domestic incidents (Capaldi, Kim & Shortt 2007, p. 103). This high rate of instigation has been linked to a broader social acceptance — and at times encouragement — of violence by women toward men (Harned 2001, p. 281).

2. Filicide perpetration

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) attributed 52% of all filicides to female perpetrators across the 2005–2015 period (Australian Institute of Criminology 2015, p. 2).

3. Judicial outcomes for spousal homicide

Research from the United States indicates that 12.9% of women are acquitted of the murder of their partner, compared with only 1.4% of men. Convicted women also receive an average sentence of 6 years, versus 17 years for male perpetrators (Hall 2012, p. 15).

4. Indigenous Australians and family violence

Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows domestic violence rates among Indigenous Australian women are six times higher than the national average, and Aboriginal men report victimisation rates four times higher than their non‑Indigenous counterparts (Mitchell 2011, p. 13).

5. Alcohol and intimate partner deaths

Alcohol was a contributing factor in 87% of Aboriginal intimate partner deaths, compared with 44% of non‑Aboriginal deaths (Australian Institute of Criminology 2009, p. 3).

6. Same‑sex relationships

Lesbian relationships report rates of intimate partner violence of up to 56%, whereas gay men are victims in around 25% of studied cases (Waldner‑Haugrud, Magruder & Vaden Gratch 1997, p. 175).

7. Perpetration as a predictor of victimisation

The perpetration of violence by a woman is the single greatest predictor of her later becoming a victim of intimate partner violence herself (Whitaker et al. 2007, p. 941).

8. Motivations for violence

The originating causes of violence by women are almost identical to those identified for men, including coercion, anger and punishment (Straus 2009, p. 555).

9. Socio‑economic context

Rates of intimate partner violence are nine times higher in lower socio‑economic neighbourhoods (Evans 2005, p. 39).

10. Male victims of intimate partner homicide

Australian men make up approximately 25% of intimate partner homicide victims (Australian Institute of Criminology 2015, p. 3).

11. Alcohol and domestic assault

The Australian Bureau of Statistics found that between 2001 and 2010, 44% of intimate partner homicides were alcohol‑related, and up to 62% of domestic assaults involved alcohol.

References

1. Australian Institute of Criminology 2009, Alcohol and homicide in Australia, AIC, Canberra, p. 3.
2. Australian Institute of Criminology 2015, Homicide in Australia: 2010–11 to 2011–12, AIC, Canberra, pp. 2–3.
3. Capaldi, D M, Kim, H K & Shortt, J W 2007, 'Observed initiation and reciprocity of physical aggression in young, at‑risk couples', Journal of Family Violence, vol. 22, no. 2, p. 103.
4. Evans, S 2005, 'Beyond gender: class, poverty and domestic violence', Australian Social Work, vol. 58, no. 1, p. 39.
5. Fiebert, M S 2014, References examining assaults by women on their spouses or male partners: an updated annotated bibliography, California State University, Long Beach.
6. Hall, M 2012, 'Gender and sentencing in intimate partner homicide', Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, vol. 102, no. 1, p. 15.
7. Harned, M S 2001, 'Abused women or abused men? An examination of the context and outcomes of dating violence', Violence and Victims, vol. 16, no. 3, p. 281.
8. Mitchell, L 2011, Domestic violence in Australia — an overview of the issues, Parliament of Australia, Canberra, p. 13.
9. Straus, M A 2009, 'Why the overwhelming evidence on partner physical violence by women has not been perceived and is often denied', Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, vol. 18, no. 6, p. 555.
10. Waldner‑Haugrud, L K, Magruder, B & Vaden Gratch, L 1997, 'Victimization and perpetration rates of violence in gay and lesbian relationships', Violence and Victims, vol. 12, no. 2, p. 175.
11. Whitaker, D J, Haileyesus, T, Swahn, M & Saltzman, L S 2007, 'Differences in frequency of violence and reported injury between relationships with reciprocal and nonreciprocal intimate partner violence', American Journal of Public Health, vol. 97, no. 5, p. 941.