One in three Australian men report using intimate partner violence, study reveals

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

More than one in three Australian men reported using intimate partner violence, with social support and strong father-son relationships key to lowering risks, world-first research has revealed.
The longitudinal study from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) has been tracking more than 16,000 boys and men since 2013, asking them about a range of critical issues including family violence.
When first surveyed, around one in four men aged 18 to 65 reported using intimate partner violence in their lifetime — including physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
By 2022, this number had increased to more than one in three in the same cohort.
Emotional abuse was the most common form of violence reported, with 32 per cent of men in 2022 reporting they had made an intimate partner feel "frightened or anxious" in their lifetime.
Nine per cent reported "hitting, slapping, kicking or otherwise physically hurting" an intimate partner when they were angry on at least one occasion.
The research indicated an estimated 120,000 men nationally were starting to use violence for the first time each year.
The study provides the first national estimate of male intimate partner violence perpetration, and is the largest longitudinal study on male health in the world.
It revealed men with moderate or severe depressive symptoms were 62 per cent more likely to use intimate partner violence by 2022, compared to men without these symptoms.
However, the study also worked to identify "protective" factors.
Men who reported high levels of social support "all of the time" were 26 per cent less likely to report using intimate partner violence.
Meanwhile those who reported close relationships with a father figure had their risk reduced by half.
"They had enough care and concern and a father figure they could confide in who taught them things," program lead Sean Martin said.
An additional 10,000 men were added to the study cohort in 2024-25, with the latest wave of data collection expanding to include questions around economic coercion and pornography use.
Dr Martin said the study has recently been funded by the Department of Health for a "sixth wave" of data collection.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows women are at least three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner.
Almost 40 per cent of people experience violence by a male perpetrator, compared to 11 per cent by a female perpetrator.
On average, one woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner.
In 2022, the Albanese federal government, along with the states and territories, pledged to end family and domestic violence in one generation.
Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin said this latest research would be key in informing next steps.
"It gives us some really good insights into where we should be looking to support men and boys who are struggling," she said.
Dr Martin said a similar longitudinal study was yet to be completed for women who use intimate partner violence.
"That would be something we would like to include [in] future waves is getting an indication of the context in which this partner violence arises," he said.
"Our own data suggests that's an important consideration, and that might include information on current partnerships and previous partnerships as well."