DFV can happen to anyone
DFV can happen to anyone.
A key statistic is that women are almost three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner.
| 1 in 6 women and 1 in 16 men have experienced physical violence by a current or former partner since the age of 15 | 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men have experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner since the age of 15 | Women are eight times more likely to experiene sexual violence by a partner than men |
Some groups in the community experience high rates of DFV and face additional barriers to seeking help6. The data tells us that:
- People with disability are 1.8 times as likely to have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner
- Young women aged 18 – 34 are 2.7 times as likely as those aged 35 and over to have experienced intimate partner violence
- People living in the most disadvantaged areas of Australia are 1.5 times as likely to experience partner violence as those living in areas of least disadvantage (ABS, 2018a)
- People living outside major cities are 1.4 times as likely to have experienced partner violence since the age of 15 as people living in Major cities (ABS, 2018a)
- Indigenous women are 32 times as likely to be hospitalised for family violence as non-Indigenous women7
- Women are more than twice as likely than men to experience fear or anxiety due to violence from a former partner
- People who have experienced childhood abuse are more likely to experience DFV as an adult
