Violence against women is a worldwide problem that is serious, pervasive and preventable. In Australia, one in every four women has experienced violence by an intimate partner, with at least one woman being killed every week. One in six women has experienced sexual violence. Other forms of violence against women such as reproductive coercion and abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, and economic abuse are also common.
The patterns, dynamics and circumstances in which violence occurs are gendered. Research shows that violence against women is driven by gender inequality. Men are more likely to perpetrate violence than women: this is reflected in statistics that confirm that both women and men are more likely to be physically assaulted by a man. Furthermore, women are three times more likely than men to experience violence at the hands of a partner or ex-partner. Men are also victims of violence, but they are more likely to experience violence from a stranger rather than someone close them, and in public rather than in the home (ANROWS 2015). When intimate partner violence occurs, the violence experienced by women is more likely to be serious, involve abusive and controlling behaviours, and be repeated.
Gender-based violence not only affects women, but their children as well. Crime data suggests that one in 50 children in Victoria witnessed a police recorded family violence incident in 2018-2019. In the 2021-2022 Personal Safety Survey, 13% of people reported witnessing partner violence against a parent before the age of 15. This exposure to violence is associated with a range of health and wellbeing problems.
Research also tells us that intersecting factors influence one's experience of family violence, including its prevalence, dynamics and pathways to safety. For example:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are more than 35 times more likely to be hospitalised by family violence than other women.
- Women and girls with disabilities are more likely to experience family violence.
- Immigrant and refugee women face additional barriers to safety, including language barriers, isolation, fear of police and courts, immigration risks and more (ANROWS 2016).
- Lesbian and gay people experience family violence at similar rates to heterosexual women, while trans and intersex people experience even higher rates of intimate partner violence (O'Halloran 2015).
No-one should have to experience violence. Whilst our focus is on women, this need not negate the experiences of men, boys, or violence in same-sex relationships. Instead our aim is to harness our existing knowledge of the specific patterns and dynamics of violence against women in order to seek innovative solutions.
MAEVe believes that research has a unique role to play in finding solutions to this complex problem. MAEVe seeks to harness the University of Melbourne’s research capacity, in collaboration with a broad range of external partners, to ameliorate this global problem. Only by working together can we create a violence-free future.