In October 2015, the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) released its Experiences of Separated Parents Study – part of its evaluation of the 2012 family violence amendments by the Federal Government.

The study examined the experiences of two cohorts of parents, in 2012 and 2014, the latter a total of 6,079 parents who separated between 1 July 2012 and 31 December 2013, representing parents’ post-reform experience of the family law system.

The data indicate that family violence is a common experience among separated parents, with a majority of participating parents in both cohorts reporting either physical or emotional abuse.

The study found that males (fathers) made up:

• 41.3% of parents who reported experiencing physical hurt (with or without emotional abuse) before/during separation
• 51.8% of parents who reported experiencing emotional abuse alone before/during separation. In 2 out of 11 types of emotional abuse, fathers reported experiencing abuse “often” at equal or higher rates than mothers.
• 34.6% of parents who reported experiencing between 21 and 55 incidents of emotional abuse before/during separation
• 45.5% of parents who reported experiencing between 11 and 20 incidents of emotional abuse before/during separation
• 45.5% of parents who reported experiencing physical hurt since separation
• 47.4% of parents who reported experiencing emotional abuse (with or without physical hurt) since separation. In 4 out of 13 types of emotional abuse, fathers reported experiencing abuse at equal or higher rates than mothers. In 7 out of 11 types of emotional abuse, fathers reported experiencing abuse “often” at equal or higher rates than mothers.
• 41.2% of parents who reported experiencing between 21 and 55 incidents of emotional abuse since separation
• 47.2% of parents who reported experiencing between 11 and 20 incidents of emotional abuse since separation
• 46.5% of parents who reported often feeling fearful after physical violence since separation, and 48.1% after emotional abuse alone
• 57.3% of parents who reported often feeling controlled after physical violence since separation, and 59.5% after emotional abuse alone
• 57.4% of parents who reported often feeling coerced after physical violence since separation, and 60.5% after emotional abuse alone.

These figures make a lie of the oft-repeated claim that “men rarely experience post-separation violence” (for example, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here). There was no statistically significant difference between fathers and mothers in reporting having often felt fearful after experiencing physical violence or emotional abuse since separation, and fathers were statistically significantly more likely than mothers to report having felt both controlled and coerced after experiencing physical violence or emotional abuse since separation.

The full report can be downloaded from aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/efva-esps_0.pdf.