FDSV summary

Family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV) is a major health and welfare issue in Australia, occurring across all socioeconomic and demographic groups, but predominantly affecting women and children. These types of violence can have a serious impact on individuals, families and communities and can inflict physical injury, psychological trauma and emotional suffering. These effects can be long-lasting and can affect future generations.

Australian, state and territory governments have a range of initiatives to prevent and respond to FDSV. The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 and the Our Ways – Strong Ways – Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 2026–2036 are the key national strategies in relation to FDSV. State and territory governments also have jurisdiction-specific initiatives that align with the National Plan. For more information see Policy and international context.

How common is family, domestic and sexual violence?

The ABS PSS provides estimates of the number of Australians who have been victims of FDSV. While every experience of FDSV is very personal and different, it is most common for this type of violence to be perpetrated against women, by men. Data from the PSS do not indicate how many people in Australia have used FDSV.

According to the 2021–22 PSS, since the age of 15:

• 1 in 5 adults (20% or 3.8 million adults) had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner, boyfriend, girlfriend or date, or family member.
• 1 in 7 adults (14% or 2.8 million) had experienced sexual violence (defined as the occurrence, attempt and/or threat of sexual assault).

For more information see Family and domestic violence and Sexual violence.

Partner violence and abuse

The 2021–22 PSS estimates showed that since the age of 15, of all adults:

• Over 1 in 10 (11.3% or 2.2 million) had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner (current or previous cohabiting)
• 1 in 5 (19% or 3.6 million) had experienced emotional abuse from a partner
• 1 in 8 (12% or 2.4 million) had experienced economic abuse (ABS 2023a).

More women than men reported experiences of partner violence and abuse.

Between 2016 and 2021–22 there was a decrease in the proportion of women who had experienced physical and/or sexual partner violence in the previous 12 months, and a decrease in the proportion of women and men who had experienced partner emotional abuse.

For more information, see Intimate partner violence. 

The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) conducted an online survey of women’s experiences of violence during the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. While not comparable with the PSS, the survey of more than 10,000 women found that the pandemic coincided with first-time and escalating intimate partner violence for some women. However, given this is a cross-sectional survey, a causal relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and women’s experiences of intimate partner violence cannot be established (Boxall and Morgan 2021). For more information, see FDSV and COVID-19.

Sexual violence

In the 2021–22 PSS, of the estimated 2.8 million Australian adults who had experienced sexual violence (occurrence, attempt and/or threat of sexual assault) since the age of 15: 

• 13% (2.5 million) had experienced sexual violence by a male
• 1.8% (353,000) had experienced sexual violence by a female (ABS 2023c).

For women aged 18 years and over who had experienced sexual violence by a male since the age of 15, the perpetrators were more likely to be a known person (20% or 2.0 million women) than a stranger (6.1% or 605,000 women) (ABS 2023c).

In the 12 months before the 2021–22 PSS, it is estimated that 1.9% of women experienced sexual violence, consistent with 2016 (ABS 2023c). 

Around 1 in 8 (13% or 1.3 million) women and 1 in 22 (4.5% or 427,000) men had experienced sexual harassment in the 12 months before the 2021–22 PSS. This represents a decrease from 2016 for both women (previously 17%) and men (previously 9.3%) (ABS 2023c).

For more information, see Sexual violence.

Stalking and surveillance

Stalking can occur as part of family and domestic violence (FDV), with current and previous partners often identified as some of the most common perpetrators. 

The 2021-22 PSS found that of the 965,000 women who had experienced stalking by a male in the last 10 years, almost 1 in 2 (46% or 447,000) reported that the most recent stalking episode was perpetrated by an intimate partner or family member. A current or previous cohabiting partner was reported as the perpetrator by more than 1 in 4 women (27% or around 260,000) (ABS 2024).

The latest available data for reporting on relationship to the perpetrator for male stalking victims is from the 2016 PSS. For men who had experienced stalking since the age of 15, the most recent stalking episode by a female stalker was perpetrated by an intimate partner for almost 3 in 4 (71% or 213,000) men (ABS 2017).

For more information, see Stalking and surveillance.

What influences family, domestic and sexual violence?

Social attitudes and norms shape the context in which violence occurs. The National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS) shows that in Australia, between 2009 and 2021, there was a positive shift in attitudes that reject gender inequality and violence against women. There was also an improvement in understanding of violence against women. 

The NCAS indicated that in 2021 Australians, on average, had:

• higher understanding of violence against women compared with previous survey years (2009, 2013 and 2017)
• higher rejection of attitudes supportive of gender inequality compared with previous survey years
• improved attitudes towards sexual violence compared with 2017
• improved attitudes towards domestic violence compared with 2009 and 2013 (Coumarelos et al 2023). 

While results were generally encouraging, some findings were concerning and highlight areas for improvement. For example, of all NCAS respondents in 2021: 

• 25% believed that women who do not leave their abusive partners are partly responsible for violence continuing
• 34% agreed it was common for sexual assault accusations to be used as a way of getting back at men
• 43% did not recognise that men are the most common perpetrators of domestic violence 
• 31% did not know that women are more likely to be raped by a known person than a stranger (Coumarelos et al. 2023). 

For more information, see Community understanding of FDSV and Community attitudes.

Who is at risk of family, domestic and sexual violence?

FDSV occurs across all ages and demographics. However, some groups are at greater risk than others, including women and children. 

Children

Children are at greater risk of FDSV. 

According to the 2021–22 PSS, about 1 in 8 (13% or 2.6 million) people aged 18 years and over, witnessed violence towards a parent by a partner before the age of 15. A higher proportion of people had witnessed partner violence against their mothers (12%, or 2.2 million) than their fathers (4.3%, or 837,000) (ABS 2023a).

The PSS also collects some information from adults about the nature and extent of violence experienced before and since the age of 15, for more information see Personal Safety, Australia.

The 2021 Australian Child Maltreatment Study surveyed people aged 16 years and over about experiences of maltreatment as a child. Of people surveyed, around:

• 3 in 10 (29%) had experienced sexual abuse by any person
• 3 in 10 (31%) had experienced emotional abuse by a parent or caregiver
• 1 in 11 (8.9%) had experienced neglect by a parent or caregiver
• 2 in 5 (40%) had experienced exposure to domestic violence (Haslam et al. 2023).

For more information, see Children and young people.

Child protection services

In Australia, state and territory governments are responsible for providing child protection services to anyone aged under 18 years who has been, or is at risk of being, abused, neglected or otherwise harmed, or whose parents are unable to provide adequate care and protection. In 2023–24:

• Around 179,000 Australian children (31 per 1,000) came into contact with the child protection system.
• Infants aged under one year had the highest rate (38 per 1,000) of contact with the child protection system and adolescents aged 15–17 years had the lowest rate (26 per 1,000).
• Emotional abuse, including exposure to family violence, was the most common primary type of abuse identified for children with substantiated cases (substantiations) (57% or 24,000 children). Neglect (21% or 8,800 children) was the next most common primary type of abuse substantiated, followed by physical abuse (12% or 5,200 children) and sexual abuse (9.1% or 3,800 children).
• Similar proportions of girls and boys were the subjects of substantiations for physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. However, a higher proportion of girls (13%) were the subjects of substantiations for sexual abuse than boys (5.5%) (AIHW 2025b).

The rate of children who were the subject of notifications increased from 49 per 1,000 in 2019–20 to 53 per 1,000 in 2023–24. However, the rate of children who were the subject of substantiations slightly decreased in the 5 years to 30 June 2024 (AIHW 2025b). 

For more information, see Child protection.

Women

More women than men experience family, domestic and sexual violence:

Women’s exposure to violence differs across the age groups. The 2021–22 PSS found that the prevalence of physical and/or sexual violence by a cohabiting partner (partner violence) among women declined with age. One in 39 (2.6%) women aged 18–34 experienced partner violence in the 2 years before the survey, compared with 2.2% for those aged 35–54 and 0.6% for those aged 55 and over (ABS 2023a). 

The prevalence of sexual violence by any perpetrator among women also decreased with age. One in 8 (12%) women aged 18–24 experienced sexual violence in the 2 years before the survey, compared with 4.5% of those aged 25–34, 2.5% of those aged 35–44, 1.9%* for those aged 45–54 and 0.5%* of those aged 55 and over (ABS 2023d). 

Note that estimates marked with an asterisk (*) should be used with caution as they have a relative standard error between 25% and 50%.

For more information, see Young women.

Other at-risk groups

Some social and cultural factors can increase the risk of experiencing FDSV. In some cases, these factors may overlap or combine to create an even greater risk. Additional factors that can increase the risk of violence include remoteness and socioeconomic area of residence, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and cultural influences. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) women are particularly at risk and have much higher rates of hospitalisation involving family violence than non-Indigenous women.

For more information, see Population groups.

What services or support do people who have experienced family, domestic and sexual violence use?

Responses to FDSV are provided informally in the community and formally through justice systems, and treatment and support services.

The 2021–22 PSS found that there were differences in whether people sought help, advice or support following partner violence depending on partner status:

• 1 in 2 (45%, or 78,100) women who had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a current partner did not seek advice or support about the violence.
• 2 in 5 women (37% or 574,000) and 2 in 5 men (39% or 166,000) who had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a previous partner did not seek advice or support about the violence (ABS 2023a).

Data for men about seeking advice or support about current partner violence are not available (ABS 2023a).

The 2021–22 PSS collected detailed data from women about the most recent incident of sexual assault by a male that occurred in the last 10 years. Of the estimated 737,000 women who had experienced sexual assault by a male in the last 10 years:

• more than 2 in 5 (44% or 324,000) did not seek advice or support after the most recent incident 
• 92% (680,000) said the police were not contacted (ABS 2023d). 

For more information, see FDSV reported to police.

Police responses

When an incident of violence is reported to police by a victim, witness or other person, it can be recorded as a crime. The ABS collects data on selected FDSV crimes recorded by police. In 2024:

• At least 2 in 5 police-recorded assaults were related to family and domestic violence across jurisdictions with available data (excluding Victoria), with FDV assaults ranging between 41% and 65%.
• Almost 2 in 5 (39% or 175) recorded homicides and related offences were related to family and domestic violence (ABS 2025).

Since 2014, the number of sexual assault victims recorded by police has increased each year. It is unclear whether this change reflects an increased incidence of sexual assault, an increased propensity to report sexual assault to police, increased reporting of historical crimes, or a combination of these factors. 

In 2024:

• there were over 40,000 police-recorded victims of sexual assault, with a rate of 147 victims per 100,000 people 
• 67% of all police-recorded sexual assaults were reported to police within one year (ABS 2025). 

For more information, see FDSV reported to police.

Homelessness services

People accessing specialist homelessness services (SHS) may need support due to family and domestic violence. Data cannot currently distinguish between victims and perpetrators of violence. 

In 2024–25, SHS agencies assisted around 117,000 clients (40% of all SHS clients) who had experienced domestic and family violence. Of these clients: 

• 3 in 4 (75% or 87,000) were female (AIHW 2025c)
• almost 1 in 12 (8.1% or 9,500 clients) were living with disability (AIHW 2025d).

Of SHS clients aged 10 and over who had experienced domestic and family violence:

• about 2 in 5 (41% or 36,800) also had a current mental health issue
• around 1 in 9 (11% or 10,300) had problematic drug and/or alcohol use (AIHW 2025c).

For more information, see Housing and Homelessness and homelessness services.

Hospitalisations

Hospitals provide health services for individuals who have experienced FDSV. The family and domestic violence (FDV) hospitalisations presented here are hospitalisations involving treatment for FDV assault. That is, where the perpetrator is coded as a family member (Spouse or domestic partner, Parent, or Other family member) in the hospital record. As information on cause of injury (such as assault) is not available in national emergency department data, family and domestic violence assault hospitalisations do not include presentations to emergency departments and underestimate overall hospital activity related to family and domestic violence. These hospitalisations also relate to more severe (and mostly physical) experiences of family and domestic violence.

Of all FDV hospitalisations (9,300) in 2023–24:

• 76% (7,000) were for females and 24% (2,300) were for males
• 62% (5,700) had the perpetrator reported as a spouse or domestic partner
• 39% (3,600) had the perpetrator reported as a parent or other family member (AIHW 2025a). 

For more information, see Health services. See also Injury in Australia, Hospitals at a glance, and Examination of hospital stays due to family and domestic violence 2010–11 to 2018–19.

1800RESPECT

1800RESPECT is Australia’s national counselling, information and support service for people affected by FDSV, their family and friends and frontline workers. In 2023–24, more than 294,000 contacts were answered by 1800RESPECT, the majority of which were via telephone (DSS unpublished).

For more information, see Helplines and related support services.

What are the consequences of family, domestic and sexual violence?

Burden of disease

The Australian Burden of Disease Study 2024 estimated the impact of various diseases, injuries and risk factors on total burden of disease for the Australian population. Intimate partner violence (IPV) was in the top 5 risk factors for total disease burden for females aged 15–54. Child abuse and neglect was in the top 3 risk factors among females aged 0–54 and for males aged 0–34 (AIHW 2024).

Among females aged 15 and over in Australia in 2024, IPV contributed to:

• around 0.3% of deaths 
• 1.7% of the total burden of disease and injury (AIHW 2024).

Figure 1 shows the estimated total burden attributable to IPV for females aged 15 and over in 2014 by disease or injury. Almost half (49%) of all homicide and violence burden amongst these females was attributable to IPV (AIHW 2024).

In Australia in 2024, child abuse and neglect contributed to:

• approximately 0.5% of deaths
• 2.4% of the total burden of disease and injury (AIHW 2024).

Figure 2 shows the estimated total burden attributable to child abuse and neglect in 2024 by disease or injury. If no one had experienced child abuse and neglect, the disease burden due to anxiety disorders would have been reduced by 27% in 2024 (AIHW 2024).

For more information, see Health outcomes and Burden of disease.

Long-term health and wellbeing

FDSV can involve single and/or repeated traumatic experiences which impact victim-survivors’ health and wellbeing. The health outcomes can be serious and long-lasting, affecting an individual’s physical and mental health, which in turn can affect a person’s employment and education, relationships, and financial and housing stability.

Health outcomes associated with FDSV vary in nature and extent and may develop over time and may persist for many years. For example, a range of health disorders have been found to be associated with child maltreatment including lifetime major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, severe alcohol use disorder and post-traumatic stress.

A behavioural outcome may be considered as a change in a victim-survivors’ behaviour that can be directly, or indirectly, attributed to experiences of FDSV. For example, taking time off work and changes to social/leisure activities, sleeping and eating habits. Some behavioural changes can lead to adverse health outcomes, including smoking, high risk alcohol and other drug use and lower levels of physical activity.

For more information, see Health outcomes, Behavioural outcomes and Children and young people.

Deaths

Between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, the AIC’s National Homicide Monitoring Program (NHMP) recorded 98 domestic homicide victims. Data from the NHMP are from police and coronial records (Bricknell and Miles 2026). In 2024–25:

• 67% (32) of all female victims of domestic homicide were killed by an intimate partner
• 29% (14) of male victims of domestic homicide were killed by an intimate partner (Bricknell and Miles 2026). 

In 2024–25, the domestic homicide victimisation rate was 0.36 per 100,000. Since 1989–90, the domestic homicide victimisation rate has more than halved. The female domestic homicide victimisation rate decreased from 0.91 to 0.35 per 100,000 females, and the male rate decreased from 0.59 to 0.36 per 100,000 males (AIC 2026).

Analysis using the Family Domestic and Sexual Violence Integrated Data System (FDSV IDS) explored deaths among people experiencing or using FDSV. Key initial findings about deaths from the FDSV IDS indicate that during the measurement period (2010 to 2024), the FDSV group:

• Had more deaths than the comparison group (3.3% of the FDSV group died compared with 1.9% of the comparison group, corresponding to 28,401 and 15,748 deaths, respectively).
• Had leading causes of death of suicide (20.7% of deaths), accidental poisoning (9.1%) and coronary heart disease (5.9%), compared with coronary heart disease (7.0% of deaths), lung cancer (5.3%) and suicide (5.2%) in the comparison group (Note cause of death was available from 2010 to 2023).
• Were 4 times as likely to die by suicide (20.7% of deaths compared with 5.2% among the comparison group), with a total of 5,892 and 817 deaths by suicide, respectively.

For more information, see Box 4 in Health outcomes, The Family Domestic and Sexual Violence Integrated Data System (FDSV IDS), Domestic homicide and Deaths in Australia. 

Key data gaps and data improvement activities

No single national data source can provide all the information needed to report on and understand FDSV. Instead, FDSV data are collated from a range of sources to provide a national picture. While there have been substantial improvements in FDSV-related data and reporting over the past decade, several national gaps remain, including limited national data on:

• Service pathways, impacts and outcomes for victim-survivors, perpetrators and families.
• Specialist services that support people who experience FDSV, for example, sexual violence and FDV services.
• FDSV experience or use in key mainstream services, such as hospital emergency departments or primary care.
• Select population groups, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

A range of national data development activities are underway to expand and enhance FDSV data. For more information see Key information gaps and development activities. Two key projects are being undertaken by the AIHW, see the Pilot data collection for specialist crisis FDV services and The Family Domestic and Sexual Violence Integrated Data System (FDSV IDS).

Where do I go for more information?

For more information, see:

• Family, domestic and sexual violence
• National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032
• Our Ways – Strong Ways – Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence 2026–2036.

For information, support and counselling contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit the 1800RESPECT website.