Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031 Outcomes Framework: First annual report

Policies, processes and programs for people with disability that promote gender equality and prevent violence against groups at heightened risk are essential to improving the safety of people with disability. Women, children and young people are at a particularly heightened risk of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Effective preventive actions targeting violence against women and children require an inclusive and collaborative effort across a range of settings. The Strategy should be considered in conjunction with other plans such as the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Children and the next National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children (Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031).

Access to safe and secure housing

Domestic and family violence is a major national health and welfare issue that can have lifelong impacts for victims and perpetrators. While it affects people of all ages and from all backgrounds, people with disability are particularly vulnerable to this form of violence (AIHW 2019). These types of violence can have a serious impact on individuals, families and communities, and can inflict physical injury, psychological trauma and emotional suffering (AIHW 2019).

Women with disability experience higher rates of intimate partner violence, emotional abuse, stalking and sexual violence than women without disability and men with disability (DRC 2020).

People with disability may have a greater exposure to risk factors associated with homelessness than the general population. Many people with disability, particularly those with severe or profound disability, seek homelessness services as a result of experiencing domestic and family violence (AIHW 2021).

Specialist homelessness services (SHS) provide accommodation-related and/or personal assistance to people who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness. SHS accommodation services include:

• short‑term or emergency accommodation
• medium-term/transitional housing
• assistance to obtain long-term housing
• assistance to sustain tenancy or prevent tenancy failure or eviction
• assistance to prevent foreclosures or for mortgage arrears (AIHW 2021).

A client is identified as having disability if they reported a limitation in core activities (self-care, mobility and/or communication) and that they always or sometimes needed assistance with one or more of these core activities.

The measure is intended to track the proportion of people with disability experiencing domestic and family violence who are assisted into safe and secure housing when requested. Due to the nature of the available data, the measure is reported here as:

• proportion of SHS clients with disability experiencing domestic and family violence who are provided assistance for accommodation when needed.

The desired key system outcome for this measure is that domestic and family violence services provide assistance needed to people with disability.

Results at baseline: 2020–21

• In 2020–21, 82% of SHS clients with disability experiencing domestic and family violence were provided assistance for accommodation when needed.
• This proportion decreased between 2013–14 and 2016–17 from 87% to 81% and has remained between 81% and 82% since (Figure 4.3). The number of SHS clients with disability experiencing domestic and family violence who were provided assistance for accommodation has fallen over time. Regression modelling of the data shows a modelled decrease of 0.8 of a percentage point per year and a modelled decrease of 6.4% over the reference period.
• There was no difference in the proportion of male and female clients with disability experiencing domestic and family violence who were provided assistance for accommodation when needed (82%).
• A slightly higher proportion of those aged 0–14 and 25–44 (84%) were provided accommodation assistance when needed compared with those aged 15–24 and 45–64 (81% and 79%, respectively). Data for those aged 65 and over have not been reported due to reliability issues associated with small numbers.

Latest results

Updated data are not yet available for this measure. Data from the 2021–22 AIHW SHSC will be included in the 2023 annual report.

Things to consider when interpreting results

• Disability status was unknown for 21% of SHS clients experiencing domestic and family violence who needed assistance in 2013–14. Between 2014–15 and 2020–21, the proportion of SHS clients with unknown disability status has ranged between 4.1% and 6.7% of these clients.
• Data for 2013–14 to 2016–17 have been adjusted for non-response. Due to improvements in the rates of agency participation and Statistical Language Key validity, data for 2017–18 onwards are not weighted. The removal of weighting does not constitute a break in time series, and weighted data from 2011–12 to 2016–17 are comparable with unweighted data for 2017–18 onwards.

For more information on this measure, including breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | Access to safe and secure housing.

Experience of domestic violence

A key challenge in defining and measuring family and domestic violence lies in the complexity of the behavioural acts involved, and the relationships and situations in which these acts occur (ABS 2013). For the purposes of this measure, family and domestic violence is defined as physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated by an intimate partner (current, previous, boyfriend or girlfriend or date, ex-boyfriend, or ex‑girlfriend) or relative or in-law (father/mother, son or daughter, brother or sister, or other relative or in-law). It also includes emotional abuse by a current or previous partner.

The measure is intended to track the proportion of females with disability aged 15 and over who have experienced family or domestic violence compared with women without disability. Due to the nature of the available data, the measure is reported here as:

• proportion of women with disability aged 18 and over who have experienced family or domestic violence since age 15, compared with women without disability.

The desired population outcome for this measure is a decrease in family and domestic violence against women with disability. Data are from the ABS PSS.

Results at baseline: 2016

• In 2016, 44% of women with disability aged 18 and over had experienced family or domestic violence since age 15; this was 14 percentage points higher than the proportion for women without disability (30%) (Figure 4.4).
• While the proportions were higher in 2016 than in 2012 for both women with and without disability (44% and 43% for those with disability; 30% and 28% for those without disability), the change was only significant for women without disability.
• There was no real change in the difference between the proportions for women with and without disability in 2012 and 2016 (14.7 and 14.3 percentage points, respectively).
• For those aged 65 and over with disability, the proportion was higher in 2016 than in 2012 (30% and 25%, respectively – an increase of 5 percentage points).
• The difference between women with and without disability who had experienced family or domestic violence since age 15 was higher among those aged 25–44 (26 percentage points) than either those aged 45–64 (16 percentage points) or 65 and over (8.8 percentage points).
• Women with severe or profound disability were more likely to report having experienced violence since age 15 (49%) than women with other disability (44%).

Latest results

Updated data are not yet available for this measure. Data from the 2021–22 ABS PSS will be included in the 2023 annual report.

Things to consider when interpreting results

• The ABS PSS uses the ABS Short Disability Module to identify ‘disability or restrictive long-term health condition’.
• The ABS PSS collects disability status at the time of the survey. It does not indicate whether a person had disability at the time of the reported incident of violence.
• ABS PSS data exclude people living in institutional care settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes, aged care hostels and other cared accommodation.
• For analysis, family or domestic violence includes emotional abuse by a current and/or previous partner since age 15, violence by a current or previous partner since age 15, and violence by a family member since age 15 (in the past 10 years for 2016 data; and in the past 20 years and restricted to the most recent incident only for 2012 data).
• While the time period for the most recent incident differs between the 2 iterations of the survey, the data are considered generally comparable (ABS 2017b).
• Questions about experiences of violence are not asked during proxy interviews. This means that a small number of people with a profound or severe communication disability or from a non-English-speaking background that prevents them from responding to survey questions themselves are excluded from the sensitive component of the ABS PSS survey (ABS 2017a).

For more information on this measure, including breakdowns of the data, see Australia’s Disability Strategy Outcomes Framework | Experience of domestic violence.