Family Violence is a crime.

One in three murder victims in Australia is female. Three quarters of these victims were killed by a current or former partner.

In Australia today, the most unsafe place for a woman is in her own home with a male partner.

When a woman leaves a violent relationship, it is common for the violence to escalate for several months at least, as the perpetrator attempts to regain control of her, often going to extremes to do so.

Relationship violence often begins during pregnancy, and if it was already occurring prior to the pregnancy, will often increase at this time.

Indigenous women are twelve times more likely to be victims of violent crime [e.g.: pack rape, murder] than non-indigenous women.

Indigenous women are also forty-five times more likely to be victims of domestic/family violence.

Family Violence is a leading cause of homelessness in Australia.

In 2003-2004, 33% (32,700) of the 100,200 clients accessing SAAP (Government funded homelessness services) were women escaping family violence.

Sixty-six percent (32,700) of the 52,700 accompanying children were also escaping family violence.

The perpetrator of family violence is solely responsible for his/her behaviour. It is never the fault of the person being abused.

STATISTICS

The following statistics show the pervasive nature of family violence in our communities:

• The Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Key Centre for Women’s Health, estimate that between 21-25 percent of women are victims of family violence during their lives.
• Many instances of family violence do not come to the attention of the criminal justice or welfare systems – as a consequence we may never really know the true extent of family violence.
• In the majority of cases, men are the perpetrators of family violence with women and children the majority of victims: Victoria Police statistics indicate that approximately 80 percent of victims of reported family violence are women.
• Family violence affects people from any age group, socio-economic, cultural and religious background.

Reference:

Department of Justice: www.justice.vic.gov.au
The Australian Bureau of Statistics: abs.gov.au