Accountability for stopping domestic violence: success measured in prevention, with consequences for perpetrators.
Health & WellbeingFamily & Sexual Violence
Family & Sexual Violence · The Democrats’ planOne woman every nine days. Prevention is not optional.
Incidents of family violence are escalating: domestic homicide has risen from 35 women in 2022 to 62 dead by November 2024, and two in five women have experienced violence since the age of 15. Our plan is ten commitments that measure prevention rather than promise it, work with men and boys, and regulate the business models driving the harm.
62 Women dead by November 2024 Up from 58, and from 35 in 2022 — incidents of family violence are escalating.
1in 6 Women who have experienced partner violence Physical or sexual violence by a current or former partner. For males it is 1 in 16.
9days Between each woman killed One man every month is killed by a current or former partner. Women are over eight times more likely to be victims than men.
47% Believed a substance contributed Of women sexually assaulted by a man in the past 10 years, the share who believed alcohol or another substance contributed to the most recent incident.
Where change starts
Four commitments — tap each to see what it changes.
The plan at a glance
Prevention of and recovery from intergenerational trauma and child abuse, answered through primary care and mental health services.
Tackle the business models that cause or contribute to domestic violence — alcohol, gambling and drug use — with measures like those used against tobacco.
Services and income support that allow women to separate from abusive relationships, plus education, rehabilitation and mental health funding.
A stronger focus on perpetration and on working with men and boys, guided by Change the story, Men in focus and the National Plan — with practitioners upskilled to deliver perpetrator interventions.
The system a survivor meets
Line for line, in the same order: how it works today, and what our plan changes.
Today
- Alcohol, gambling and X-rated pornography lobbies keep avoiding regulation
- Recommended verification for online porn rejected; gambling advertising laws watered down
- Survivor support underfunded, and domestic violence a leading cause of homelessness
- Too little of the prevention effort focuses on perpetration, or on working with men and boys
Our plan
- Harmful business models tackled with measures like those used against tobacco
- Safety rules set by the evidence, not by the industries that profit from the harm
- Funding for services and income support that lets a woman separate and stay housed
- A stronger focus on perpetration, using Change the story, Men in focus and the National Plan
The change that changes everything
A commitment to end violence within the decade, with no measure of prevention attached
Success measured in violence prevented, with consequences for perpetrators
Jess Hill and Michael Salter of UNSW put it plainly: prevention advocates must “hold ourselves accountable to the goals that we set for ourselves and the promises we make to the community.” The 2024-25 Budget put $4.7b toward gender-based violence prevention and $925m extra into the Leaving Violence program over 5 years, alongside the Government’s commitment to end violence against women in the next decade. A budget and a deadline are not a measure of prevention. Our first commitment is the accountability that makes the rest count.
The full policy
Word for word — the platform as our members wrote it.
The Issues
There is no panacea to gendered violence. There is no one solution. We will not go close to achieving the government’s ambitious goal to end gendered violence within a generation unless we pursue a prevention agenda that aims to prevent gendered violence and coercive control within the short- to medium-term.
“We need a flourishing and interconnected prevention system, embedded in and connected to frontline services, with appropriate resourcing and incentives to focus where they have the most preventative effect. And ultimately, as prevention advocates, we need to hold ourselves accountable to the goals that we set for ourselves and the promises we make to the community.”
— Jess Hill and Michael Salter, UNSW
Incidents of family violence are escalating and, more alarmingly, 58 women were victims of domestic homicide, up from 35 in 2022. 2024 is worse with 62 women dead by November. Women are over eight times more likely to be victims than men.
It is clear that the ‘gender equality’ approach is neither working nor evidence-based.
There are several reasons for this. Governments, time and time again, have allowed vested interest lobbyists in, for instance, alcohol, gambling and X-rated pornography, to avoid regulation. They normalise practices that are harmful and dangerous, particularly for women and children. The eSafety Commissioner’s recently recommended verification for online porn was rejected, gambling advertising laws were watered down by the Prime Minister and a ban on under-16 year-olds using the internet seems likely to fail.
There is insufficient funding for survivor support (preventive and reactive). Domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness, exacerbated by growing socio-economic drivers. A 2016 Personal Safety Survey showed 60% of single mothers were survivors of domestic violence and half of them were living in poverty with their children.
Family violence is worse in Aboriginal communities, as we know, and these communities are also over-represented in being affected by almost all the other drivers of FDV outlined here.
Our Plan
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Bring accountability to the cause of stopping domestic violence by measuring success in prevention and consequences for perpetrators.
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Bring a stronger focus on prevention of and recovery from intergenerational trauma and child abuse.
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Tackle the business models that cause or contribute to domestic violence such as alcohol, gambling and drug use, introducing measures such as those used against tobacco.
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Upskill practitioners in providing interventions for perpetrators of violence.
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Respond to the prevalent childhood trauma in Australia through primary care and mental health services.
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Provide adequate funding for services including income support that allows women to separate from abusive relationships.
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Continue to fight for gender equity.
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Provide adequate funding for education and rehabilitation services.
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Adequately fund mental health support.
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Increase the focus on perpetration and working with men and boys in the prevention of violence against women. Frameworks such as Change the story, Men in focus and the National Plan outline key actions for working with men and boys.
The Evidence
“Family, domestic and sexual violence 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 Institute of Health and Welfare
2 in 5 women have experienced violence since the age of 15. 1 in 6 women have experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or former partner, and for males it is 1 in 16. In Australia, intimate partner violence contributes to more death, disability and illness in women aged 25 to 44 than any other preventable risk factor.
75% of victims of domestic violence reported the perpetrator as male, while 25% reported the perpetrator as female. Gender inequality continues to disempower women.
On average, one woman every nine days and one man every month is killed by a current or former partner. Recent studies have shown that almost half (47%) of the women who had experienced male perpetrated sexual assault in the past 10 years believed alcohol or another substance contributed to the most recent incident.
The 2024-25 Budget allows $925m extra for the Leaving Violence program over 5 years, $4.7b for gender-based violence prevention and the commitment from Government is to end violence against women in the next decade.
References
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Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW): Family, domestic and sexual violence.
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Australian Government Department of Social Services: National Plan to End Violence against Women and their Children 2022–2032.
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Alcohol/drug-involved family violence in Australia (ADIVA) (aic.gov.au).
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Australian Bureau of Statistics: Personal Safety Survey 2021-22.
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Children and young people — Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (aihw.gov.au).
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National Community Attitudes Survey (NCAS) by ANROWS.
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Bricknell, S. Homicide in Australia 2020-21, Statistical Report no. 42, Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology (published 2023).
Make it happen.
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