Following last week’s launch of Our Watch – a new national initiative aimed to prevent violence against women and their children – the One in Three Campaign has released a new analysis of the latest Australian data on male victims of family violence.

Senior Researcher Greg Andresen said, “We are very glad to see violence against women being taken so seriously by the Australian Government. However we are extremely concerned that one third of victims of sexual assault and family violence are excluded by Our Watch and its sister organisation ANROWS simply on the basis of their gender.”

The analysis of the ABS Personal Safety Survey and the AIC Homicide in Australia, 2008–10, published today by One in Three, challenges the claim that the vast majority of family violence is committed by men against women and children. Using the same data sources as Fact Sheets recently released by ANROWS, the new data analysis paints a very different picture of gender and family violence in Australia.

“The statistics presented by ANROWS have been designed to over-inflate female victimisation by using lifetime experience of violence instead of current rates, while downplaying male victimisation by taking only the female perspective,” said Mr Andresen.

“75 males were killed in domestic homicide incidents between 2008-10. That’s one death every 10 days,” said Mr Andresen. “1.2 million Australian men have experienced emotional abuse by a partner, almost half a million have experienced violence by a partner and almost a third of a million have experienced violence by a girlfriend/boyfriend or date. Where are the services for these men and boys?”

The vast majority of domestic violence services in Australia are closed to males. There are no shelters for men and their children, no safe rooms or legal support at courthouses, no community education and prevention programmes, no support groups, no perpetrator programs for women or health service screening tools for men.

One in Three is calling upon the Australian Government to comply with its international human rights obligations and provide programs and services for male, as well as female victims of family violence.

“There is simply no excuse for this kind of sexist discrimination in Australia in 2014,” said Mr Andresen.

Male victims of family violence: key statistics

• More than 1 in 3 victims of domestic homicide were male (38.7%)
• 2 in 5 victims of physical and/or sexual child abuse were male (39.0%)
• 1 in 3 victims of current partner violence were male (33.3%)
• Almost 1 in 3 victims of violence from a boyfriend/girlfriend or date were male (27.9%)
• More than 1 in 3 victims of partner emotional abuse were male (37.1%)
• 1 in 3 victims of stalking were male (34.2%)
• Almost 1 in 3 victims of sexual assault were male (29.6%)

Male victims of family violence were:

• 2 to 3 times more likely than women to have never told anybody about experiencing partner violence
• Twice as likely as women to have never sought advice or support about experiencing partner violence
• Up to 40% more likely than women to have not contacted police about experiencing partner violence
• Half as likely as women to have had a restraining order issued against the perpetrator of partner violence.

MEDIA CONTACT

Greg Andresen, Senior Researcher, One in Three Campaign, 0403 813 925 or info@oneinthree.com.au

Download PDF version of media release here.