Little is known in Australia about the perpetrators of domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV), their patterns of perpetration, the risk factors for the use of violence, or potential points of intervention. Much research has focused on the people who experience violence, and while this is crucial, we also need research on the people who commit it. National and state prevention strategies emphasise the need to address the perpetration of DFSV if we are to end violence against women and children within a generation. Yet at this point there is little systematic data on the perpetration of DFSV.

This project directly addresses these research gaps. It contributes to the Australian and international evidence base on the perpetration of domestic, family and sexual violence. Using New South Wales as a proof of concept to start building a national picture of DFSV perpetration, the project involves a representative survey and an analysis of existing data sets to determine the prevalence of DFSV perpetration.

Methods

The project includes a representative survey of the NSW population, the DFSV Perpetration Survey, and an analysis of existing data sets. The survey involves a weighted sample of 2,000 men, women and people of other genders aged 16 years and older. The survey will consist of a range of questions that seek to understand the extent and patterns of perpetration and its drivers. We will also map existing data on DFSV perpetration to understand what is already being collected and how this can be useful in benchmarking and monitoring, assessing the efficacy of reduction strategies, and evaluation of interventions.

Significance

The project will make six contributions to preventing and reducing DFSV:

  1. Provide vital knowledge on violence, by mapping who uses violence, why, when, how, and where
  2. Guide prevention and reduction efforts, including interventions for those using or at risk of using DFSV
  3. Provide a third key benchmark for measuring progress in reducing DFSV
  4. Change the framing by helping to bring perpetrators into view, naming their behaviour as the defining problem, and shifting the burden off victims
  5. Identify protective factors against the use of DFSV
  6. Identify opportunities to improve data on perpetration

Research partners

The project is a collaboration between:

Funding

The project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services, under the ANROWS grants program “People who use violence”. The ANROWS page for this project is here.

This project is supported by the QUT Centre for Justice.