Violence against people with disability

1 in 2

(47%) adults with disability have experienced violence after the age of 15.

2 in 5

(43%) adults with disability have experienced physical violence after the age of 15.

1 in 5

(20%) adults with disability have experienced abuse before the age of 15.

On this page:

Introduction

Acts of violence can affect anyone. But some people, such as those with disability, may be especially vulnerable to experiencing violence.

What is violence, abuse and intimate partner violence?

Violence

Violence can take many forms. Two main types are:

  • Sexual—behaviours of a sexual nature carried out against a person’s will, such as sexual assault (for example, rape, indecent assault and attempts to force a person into sexual activity) or threat of sexual assault.
  • Physical—incidents involving the use or threat of physical force with the intent to harm or frighten a person, such as physical assault or threat of physical assault.

Violence can be perpetrated by strangers or by someone the person knows.

In this section, violence is defined as any incident involving the occurrence, attempt or threat of physical or sexual assault.

Assaults may have occurred in conjunction with a robbery and includes incidents that occurred at work, at school or overseas. In this section, sexual assault excludes unwanted sexual touching, which is defined as sexual harassment.

Abuse

Abuse can also take many forms. In this section, abuse refers to physical and sexual abuse of a child under the age of 15 years by an adult. These are defined as:

  • Sexual—any act involving a child in sexual activity beyond their understanding or contrary to currently accepted community standards.
  • Physical—any deliberate physical injury (including bruises) (ABS 2017a).

In this section, abuse excludes discipline that accidentally resulted in injury, emotional abuse, and physical and sexual abuse by someone under the age of 18.

Intimate partner violence

In this section, intimate partner includes current partner (who the respondent lives with), previous partner (who the respondent lived with), boyfriend/girlfriend/date and ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend (who the respondent never lived with). Intimate partner violence includes sexual and/or physical violence by an intimate partner.

In Australia, it is estimated that:

  • more than one-third (37%) of adults who have experienced at least 1 incident of violence after the age of 15 have disability
  • close to half (46%) who have experienced abuse before the age of 15 have disability (ABS 2017b).

Adults with disability are more likely to experience violence than those without disability. Of adults with disability, an estimated:

  • 1 in 2 (47% or 2.7 million) have experienced violence after the age of 15, compared with 1 in 3 (36% or 4.5 million) without disability
  • 1 in 5 (20% or 1.1 million) have experienced abuse before the age of 15, compared with 1 in 10 (11% or 1.3 million)
  • 1 in 17 (5.8% or 332,000) have experienced violence sometime in the last year, compared with 1 in 19 (5.2% or 656,000)
  • 3 in 4 (74% or 2.0 million) of those who experienced violence have experienced multiple incidents of violence, compared with 6 in 10 (62% or 2.8 million) (ABS 2017b).

Personal Safety Survey

Data in this section are sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2016 Personal Safety Survey (PSS). This survey collects information from men and women aged 18 years and over about:

  • since the age of 15—sexual and physical violence, current and previous partner violence and emotional abuse, and stalking
  • before the age of 15—sexual and physical abuse, and witnessing violence between a parent and their partner
  • lifetime—experience of sexual harassment, and general feelings of safety (ABS 2017a).

In the PSS, a person is considered to have disability if they had 1 or more conditions which have lasted, or are likely to last, for at least 6 months and restrict everyday activities. Disability is further classified by whether a person has a specific limitation or restriction and then by whether the limitation or restriction applies to core activities or only to schooling or employment.

The severity of disability is defined by whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment, with 3 core activities—self-care, mobility, and communication—and is reported for mild, moderate, severe, and profound limitation. People who ‘always’ or ‘sometimes’ need help with 1 or more core activities are referred to in this section as ‘people with severe or profound disability’.

While the PSS is the best available source of data about the experience of violence and abuse, care should be taken when using it for estimates related to people with disability. Reasons include that:

  • It uses the ABS’ Short Disability Module to identify ‘disability or restrictive long-term health condition’. This module is not as effective in identifying disability as the questions used in the ABS’ Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC), and may overestimate the number of people with less severe forms of disability.
  • A specific PSS requirement is that interviews are conducted in private. Where a respondent requires the assistance of another person to communicate with the interviewer, proxy interviews are conducted with a household member chosen by the person. The proxy interview only covers the compulsory component of the survey and these data are not released. Questions about sensitive topics from the voluntary component of the survey, including experiences of violence, are not asked in proxy interviews (ABS 2018). Therefore, it is likely that the PSS under-represents those with profound or severe disability. In 2016, approximately 33% of respondents who reported a profound or severe disability, were not included in released data due to the use of a proxy or opting out (ABS 2017a).
  • The PSS only collects from private dwellings and does not collect data from people living in institutional care settings.
  • The PSS asks about long-term conditions and impacts on daily activities (disability) at the time of the survey, whereas questions on violence relate to either the last 12 months or a person’s lifetime. It is therefore not possible to determine whether a person had disability at the time of experiencing violence. As such, disability should be interpreted as a characteristic of people at the time of the survey, and not at the time of the incident of violence; it is not possible to identify if disability is a risk factor for, or outcome of, experiencing violence; and care should be taken when making inferences for incidents, especially those that occurred more than 12 months ago (ABS 2017a).

Adults with disability, especially those with severe or profound disability, are more likely than adults without disability to experience all types of violence:

  • 16% (935,000) of adults with disability have experienced sexual violence after the age of 15, compared with 9.6% (or 1.2 million) without disability
  • 43% (2.5 million) have experienced physical violence, compared with 32% (4.1 million) without disability
  • 21% (1.2 million) have experienced intimate partner violence, compared with 13% (1.7 million) without disability (Table VIOLENCE.1 and Figure VIOLENCE.1).
Table VIOLENCE.1: Prevalence of violence after age 15(a) for adults(b), by disability status(c) and type of violence, 2016 (%)

Type of violence

Severe or profound disability

Other disability

All with disability

Without disability

Sexual violence(d)

24.0

15.2

16.3

9.6

Physical violence(e)

43.9

43.0

43.1

32.1

Intimate partner violence(f)

28.5

19.7

20.8

13.2

Total who experienced violence

48.8

46.7

47.0

35.9

(a) Experience of violence after age 15 (in last year or previously). Includes sexual violence and physical violence.

(b) People aged 18 and over living in households.

(c) Disability status is determined at the time of the survey. It does not indicate whether a person had disability at the time of an incident of violence.

(d) Includes sexual assault and sexual threat.

(e) Includes physical assault and physical threat.

(f) Includes sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by a current partner (living with), previous partner (has lived with), boyfriend/girlfriend/date and ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend (never lived with).

Note: Components may not add to total as people may experience multiple types of violence. A person who experienced sexual and physical violence is counted separately for each type of violence they experienced but only once in the aggregated total.

Source: ABS 2017b; see also Table VIOL3.

Women with disability report higher rates of sexual violence and intimate partner violence than their male counterparts. Men with disability report higher rates of physical violence (Figure VIOLENCE.1). This is also the case for adults without disability, although the rates are generally higher for men and women with disability than without:

  • 1 in 4 (25% or 748,000) women with disability have experienced sexual violence after the age of 15, compared with 15% (or 978,000) without disability
  • 1 in 14 (6.6% or 187,000) men with disability have experienced sexual violence after the age of 15, compared with 3.9% (or 241,000) without disability
  • 2 in 5 (40% or 1.2 million) women with disability have experienced physical violence after the age of 15, compared with 26% (or 1.7 million) without disability
  • almost 1 in 2 (47% or 1.3 million) men with disability have experienced physical violence after the age of 15, compared with 38% (or 2.4 million) without disability.

Figure VIOLENCE.1: Prevalence of violence for adults, by violence type, disability status and sex, 2016

Column chart showing prevalence of violence for men, women and all adults, with and without disability. The reader can select to display the chart by type of violence, including intimate partner, physical, sexual and all types of violence, and by disability status. The chart shows women with severe or profound disability are more likely (36%) to experience intimate partner violence than women without disability (20%).

Violence (198KB XLSX)

Disability group

Disability group is a broad categorisation of disability. It is based on underlying health conditions and on impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. It is not a diagnostic grouping, nor is there a one-to-one correspondence between a health condition and a disability group.

Some people with disability—such as those with psychological or intellectual disability—are more likely to have experienced violence (Figure VIOLENCE.2). Of adults with disability, those most likely to have experienced violence after the age of 15 have:

  • psychological disability (65% or 587,000 people)
  • intellectual disability (62% or 295,000 people)
  • head injury, stroke or brain damage (60% or 110,000 people).

This is almost double the rate of those without disability (36% or 4.5 million people).

Figure VIOLENCE.2: Prevalence of violence for adults, by violence type and disability group, 2016

Stacked column chart showing prevalence of violence for adults with 5 groups of disability, including head injury, stroke, or brain damage, intellectual, physical, psychological and sight, hearing or speech disability. The reader can select to display the chart by type of violence, including intimate partner, physical, sexual and all types of violence. The chart shows adults with psychological disability are more likely (35%) to experience sexual violence than adults with sight, hearing or speech disability (13%).

Violence (198KB XLSX)

Perpetrators of violence

Violence against people with disability is most often perpetrated by someone they know. For adults with disability, who have experienced violence after age 15, the most common perpetrators of violence are:

  • more than 2 in 5 (44% or 1.1 million) by an intimate partner compared to 37% (or 1.7 million) of adults without disability
  • more than 1 in 5 (22% or 598,000) by an acquaintance or neighbour compared to 16% (or 718,000)
  • 1 in 7 (14% or 365,000) by a friend or housemate compared to 12% (or 528,000)
  • 1 in 9 (11% or 301,000) by a parent compared to 8.4% (or 382,000) (Table VIOLENCE.2).
Table VIOLENCE.2: Relationship to perpetrator of violence for adults who experienced violence(a), by disability status(b), 2016 (%)

Relationship to perpetrator

With disability(b)

Without disability

Total

Known person

80.5

69.6

73.7

          Intimate partner(c)

44.2

36.7

39.5

          Parent

11.2

8.4

9.4

          Child

1.7

*0.4

0.9

          Sibling

5.3

3.0

3.8

          Other relative/in-law

5.7

4.2

4.7

          Friend or housemate

13.5

11.6

12.3

          Acquaintance or neighbour

22.1

15.8

18.2

          Other known person(d)

20.6

14.6

16.8

Stranger

43.1

47.9

46.1

*    Estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution.

(a) People aged 18 and over who experienced violence after age 15. Includes sexual and physical violence.

(b) Disability status is determined at the time of the survey. It does not indicate whether a person had a disability at the time of an incident of violence.

(c) Includes current partner (living with), previous partner (has lived with), boyfriend/girlfriend/date and ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend (never lived with).

(d) Includes employer/manager/supervisor, co-worker, teacher/tutor, client/patient/customer, medical practitioner (for example, doctor, psychologist, nurse, counsellor), priest/Minister/Rabbi or other spiritual advisor, carer (includes non-family paid or unpaid helper), and other known person.

Note: Components may not add to totals as a person may experience violence by more than 1 perpetrator. A person who has experienced violence by more than 1 perpetrator is counted only once in the aggregate groups and totals.

Source: ABS 2017b; see also Table VIOL5.

Emotional abuse

An estimated 41% (or 1.5 million) of Australian adults who have experienced emotional abuse by a current or previous partner since the age of 15 have disability (ABS 2017b).

What is emotional abuse?

Emotional abuse refers to when a person is subjected to certain behaviours or actions aimed at preventing or controlling their behaviour, causing them emotional harm or fear.

These behaviours are intended to manipulate, control, isolate or intimidate the person they are aimed at. They are generally repeated behaviours and include psychological, social, economic and verbal abuse.

Examples include:

  • controlling or trying to control a person from contacting family, friends or community
  • constantly insulting a person to make them feel ashamed, belittled or humiliated
  • shouting, yelling or verbally abusing a person to intimidate them
  • lying to a person’s children with the intent of turning their children against them
  • threatening to take a person’s children away from them (ABS 2017a).

The PSS collected information about men’s and women’s experiences of emotional abuse by a current and/or previous partner since the age of 15.

Adults with disability are more likely than those without to have experienced emotional abuse from a current or previous partner (Figure VIOLENCE.3). After the age of 15, emotional abuse by a current or previous partner has been experienced by an estimated:

  • 1 in 4 (26% or 1.5 million) adults with disability, compared with 1 in 6 (17% or 2.1 million) adults without disability
  • 1 in 3 (32% or 929,000) women with disability, compared with 19% (or 1.2 million)
  • 1 in 5 (20% or 556,000) men with disability, compared with 14% (or 876,000).

Figure VIOLENCE.3: Prevalence of emotional abuse for adults, by disability status and sex, 2016

Bar chart showing prevalence of emotional abuse by a partner for men, women and all adults, with and without disability. The reader can select to display the chart by sex and by disability status. The chart shows women with severe or profound disability are more likely (39%) to experience emotional abuse by a current or previous partner than women with other disability (30%).

Violence (198KB XLSX)

Adults with disability who were emotionally abused after the age of 15, by their most recently emotionally abusive previous partner, are more likely, than those without disability, to report they experienced:

  • financial abuse—50% (or 591,000) with disability, compared with 37% (or 579,000) without disability
  • deprivation of basic needs such as food, shelter, sleep or assistive aids—14% (or 172,000) with disability, compared with 8% (or 124,000)
  • insults intended to cause shame or humiliation—56% (or 668,000) with disability, compared with 46% (or 707,000) (AIHW 2019).

Adults with disability who have experienced emotional abuse are more likely to experience emotional abuse from multiple previous partners. Almost 1 in 4 (24% or 282,000) of adults with disability, who have experienced emotional abuse from a previous partner after the age of 15, experienced such abuse from more than 1 partner, compared with 16% (or 244,000) without disability (AIHW 2019).

Sexual harassment

About one-third (35% or 2.5 million) of Australian adults who have experienced sexual harassment have disability (ABS 2017b).

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment refers to behaviours a person finds improper or unwanted, makes them feel uncomfortable, and are offensive due to their sexual nature. It includes:

  • indecent messages, such as electronic messages and posts on social media, and written messages
  • indecent exposure
  • unwanted touching
  • sharing images/videos of the person that are sexual in nature and without consent
  • exposing the person to images/videos of sexual nature that they do not wish to see (ABS 2017a).

Adults with disability, particularly those with severe or profound disability, are more likely to experience sexual harassment than other Australians. About 43% of adults with disability (or 2.5 million), and 50% (or 360,000) with severe or profound disability, have experienced sexual harassment, compared with 37% (or 4.7 million) without disability (Figure VIOLENCE.4).

Figure VIOLENCE.4: Prevalence of sexual harassment for adults, by disability status, 2016

Bar chart showing prevalence of sexual harassment for adults with and without disability. The reader can select to display the chart by disability status. The chart shows adults with severe or profound disability are more likely (33%) to experience unwanted touching, grabbing, kissing or fondling than adults without disability (20%).

Violence (198KB XLSX)

Women with disability are more likely to experience sexual harassment than women without disability or men with or without disability. An estimated 57% (or 1.7 million) of women with disability have experienced sexual harassment, compared with:

  • 51% (or 3.3 million) of women without disability
  • 28% (or 799,000) of men with disability
  • 23% (or 1.4 million) of men without disability.

Adults with psychological disability are more likely than adults with other types of disability to experience sexual harassment (62% or 557,000 compared with 43% or 2.5 million of adults with all types of disability).

Where can I find out more?

Data tables for this report.

People with disability who experience domestic and family violence—AIHW Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia: Continuing the national story 2019.

ABS Personal Safety, Australia, 2016 .