A key component of the national emergency is the rate at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are being murdered and disappeared. While the availability of disaggregated data is limited, the information we do have suggests First Nations women are murdered at higher rates than the general Australian population, and primarily in the context of domestic and family violence. This table details the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who were killed each year between 2014-15 and 2022-23, and the numbers killed by an intimate partner or other family member.
The Review notes that this data only includes homicides that have been finalised (either by the courts or other means) and does not capture the Aboriginal women and children who have been disappeared, presumed murdered.
Table 1: Female Indigenous victims of homicide and their relationship with the primary offender, 1 July 2014 - 30 June 20231
| Year | Total female victims | Female victims of intimate partner homicide | Female victims of family member-perpetrated homicide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 15 | 7 | 7 |
| 2015-16 | 13 | 9 | 3 |
| 2016-17 | 9 | 7 | 1 |
| 2017-18 | 9 | 8 | 0 |
| 2018-19 | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| 2019-20 | 20 | 7 | 7 |
| 2020-21 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 2021-22 | 12 | 8 | 2 |
| 2022-23 | 13 | 5 | 4 |
* Data presented refer to an individual’s sex (i.e. sex characteristics) rather than gender (i.e. ‘social and cultural identity, expression and experience’). Some of the 2022-23 data presented may exclude Western Australia where data may not be available.2
Women’s experience of cohabiting partner violence in the last 12 months has decreased over the period from 2005 to 2021-22. Table 2 presents prevalence rates of violence and abuse for adult women in the last 12 month. It is expressed as a percentage of all Australian women aged 18 years and over.
Table 2: Women aged 18 years and over who experienced violence and emotional abuse from a cohabiting partner in the last 12 months, 2005 to 2021-223
Proportion (%) of total population
| 2005 | 2012 | 2016 | 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sexual violence | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Physical violence | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 | *0.7 |
| Emotional abuse | na | 4.7 | 4.8 | *3.9 |
| Total violence | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.7 | *0.9 |
* The difference in the prevalence rate between 2016 and 2021–22 is statistically significant.
Like Table 2, the following table shows similar results for women’s experience of cohabiting partner violence and abuse, however focussed on the last two years. It shows a decrease in total violence and emotional abuse between 2016 and 2021-22.
Table 3: Women aged 18 years and over who experienced violence and emotional abuse from a cohabiting partner in the last two years, 2005 to 2021-224
Proportion (%) of total population
| 2005 | 2012 | 2016 | 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emotional abuse | na | 6.1 | 6.5 | *5.3 |
| Total violence | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.7 | *1.7 |
* The difference in the prevalence rate between 2016 and 2021–22 is statistically significant.
Table 4 includes data on adult women’s experiences of partner violence and abuse since age 15. It also compares prevalence for current and previous partners. It shows that since age 15, while total violence slightly fell, it slightly decreased for current partners but increased for previous partners. There were similar results for emotional abuse, while sexual violence rates rose.
Table 4: Prevalence of women, aged 18 years and over, who have experienced partner violence and abuse since age 15, 2016 and 2021-225
Proportion (%) of total population
Type of violence
| 2016 | 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|
| Physical violence | 15.9 | 14.9 |
| Sexual violence | 5.1 | 6.2 |
| Total | 17.3 | 16.9 |
Relationship status at the time of the physical or sexual violence
| 2016 | 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|
| Current partner | 2.9 | 1.7 |
| Previous partner | 14.6 | 15.5 |
Emotional abuse
| 2016 | 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|
| Current partner | 6.1 | 4.3 |
| Previous partner | 18.0 | 19.6 |
| Total emotional abuse | 23.0 | 22.9 |
As outlined in Table 5, between 2016 and 2021-22 there has been a significant increase in women’s experiences of a current or previous partner tracking their movements. In this context, tracking refers to a partner keeping track of where they were and who they were with (e.g. constant phone calls, GPS tracking, monitoring through social media).
Table 5: Of women who experienced emotional abuse, numbers and proportion of women who experienced tracking of movements, 2016 and 2021-226
| 2016 | 2021-22 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracking of movements | Estimate (‘000) | % | Estimate (‘000) | % | % Increase between 2016 & 2021 |
| Current partner | 56.7 | 9.9 | 66.5 | 15.4 | 56 |
| Previous partner | 455.1 | 26.9 | 641.5 | 33.0 | 23 |
The Review recognises more focus is urgently needed to prevent violence against people with intersecting identities, including people with disability, LGBTIQA+ people and both long term and recently arrived migrant and refugee communities. While Australia has some helpful population-level data, we lack disaggregated data on our most marginalised communities affected by DFSV. What data we have, including in Table 6, indicates these communities face higher rates of violence than the population as a whole.
Table 6 presents prevalence rates of violence and abuse for adult women in the last 12 months. It is expressed as a percentage of all Australian women aged 18 years and over.
Table 6: Women aged 18 years and over, who have experienced violence and abuse by a cohabiting partner in the last two years, disaggregated by sexual orientation, disability status and country of birth, 2021-227
Proportion (%) of total population
Sexual orientation
| Experienced partner violence | Experienced partner emotional abuse | Experienced partner economic abuse | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heterosexual | 1.6 | 5.2 | 3.1 |
| Gay, lesbian, bisexual or different term (a)(b) | *3.9 | 7.1 | *4.1 |
Disability status (c)
| Experienced partner violence | Experienced partner emotional abuse | Experienced partner economic abuse | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does not have disability | 1.5 | 4.6 | 2.4 |
| Has disability | 2.2 | 7.0 | 4.6 |
Country of birth
| Experienced partner violence | Experienced partner emotional abuse | Experienced partner economic abuse | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2.1 | 5.6 | 3.5 |
| Born overseas | 1.0 | 4.8 | 2.3 |
| Total women | 1.7 | 5.3 | 3.1 |
* Notes:
- Different terms that people may use to describe their sexual orientation include asexual, pansexual and queer.
- While data for women who identified as gay or lesbian, bisexual, or who used a different term such as asexual, pansexual or queer have been combined into a single output category, experiences of partner violence may vary across each group.
- Disability refers to any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months.
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution.