Domestic violence in Australia

In Australia, domestic violence is defined by Family Law Act 1975 as "violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person's family, or causes the family member to be fearful".

The Act refers to acts of violence that occur between people who have, or have had, an intimate relationship in domestic settings. Domestic violence is most commonly perpetrated by males against their female partners, but it also includes violence against men by their female partners and violence within same-sex relationships. However, the term can be altered by each state's legislation and can broaden the spectrum of domestic violence, such as in Victoria, where family-like relationships and witnessing any type of violence in the family is defined as a family violence.

To refer to domestic violence, in Australia, states chose to name them differently. As such, in Australia domestic violence, depending on the state, it's called "domestic violence", "family violence", "domestic and family violence" and "domestic abuse".

A survey of domestic violence data in Australia revealed that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 20 men have experienced at least one incident of violence from a current or former partner since the age of 15.

Between 2010 and 2012, every 10 days a male died as a result of family violence, with a total of 75 over the period, whilst a female dies every week.

Between 2014 and 2016 there were 264,028 domestic violence incidents reported and recorded. However, Australian Bureau of Statistics's released data revealed that 80% of women and 95% of men who had experienced violence from a current partner never contacted the police. The most common reason for not reporting was cited as fear of revenge or further violence from the current partner.

Although the domestic violence definitions and terminology are different for every state, it is accepted Australia wide that domestic violence affects everyone regardless of gender, economic status or cultural background.

In 1996, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) held a national survey, entitled 'Women's Safety Survey' which provided the first comprehensive national data on all forms of violence against women.

In 1997, John Howard, the prime minister of Australia brought together the heads of all states and territories and acknowledged the domestic violence phenomena across Australia and set to work together to resolve the issue. In the same year, the Commonwealth Government of Australia committed $50 million to test preventive measures and practices to address domestic violence. The program was called 'Partnerships Against Domestic Violence' and was founded until 2003. Along with the said founding, Centrelink started providing emergency crisis payments to women who were victims of domestic violence.

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