‘Wrong direction': Grim trend rising in Aus

Perth Now

2 days ago

A major new study revealing intimate partner violence is on the rise despite efforts to counter it is 'very concerning', Tanya Plibersek has said.
One in three men have admitted to abusing an intimate partner either emotionally or physically, according to the latest Australian Institute of Family Studies findings.
It marks an increase from one in four about a decade ago.
Reacting to the AIFS report on Tuesday, the Social Services Minister said it was clear the trend was headed in the 'wrong direction'. A new study has revealed one in three men have committed intimate partner violence. NewsWire / Diego Fedele Credit: News Corp Australia
'It looks at a large cohort of men over a long period of time, and what the research shows is that over about a decade, between the first report and the second report, the number of men who have ever used violence has increased from one in four to one in three,' Ms Plibersek told the ABC.
'That equates to about 120,000 extra men every year in Australia using violence for the first time in intimate relationships.
'Obviously that's a trend that's going in the wrong direction.
The study found emotional abuse was the most common form of intimate partner violence.
Thirty-two per cent of men in 2022 reported that they had made an intimate partner feel 'frightened or anxious'.
Meanwhile, 9 per cent admitted to 'hitting, slapping, kicking or otherwise physically hurting' their partner when angry.
But Ms Plibersek stressed the report offered 'some really good insights into what makes it more or less likely that men will ever use violence in an intimate relationship'.
'It shows that men who have good mental health, who have good social connections and social supports, and who have a good relationship with a father or father figure when they're young, are all less likely to use violence in their relationships,' she said. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek says rising intimate partner violence is 'very concerning'. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
According to the report, men with high levels of social support 'all of the time' were 26 per cent less likely to say they had committed intimate partner violence.
It also said men with strong relationships, with an affectionate father figure as a child, were 48 per cent less likely to say they had committed intimate partner violence.
In contrast, men with depressive symptoms were 62 per cent more likely to abuse a partner when compared to others without these symptoms.
'I think a lot of people in recent years have reported social isolation and loneliness as bigger features in their lives,' Ms Plibersek said.
'It shows why it's important that we invest in mental health supports and we're doing that as a government — an extra billion dollars with Medicare walk-in mental health clinics, expanding the number of Headspace clinics, reinstating telehealth psychiatry, telehealth consultations.
'All of those supports make a difference. It shows why it's important that we are investing to help women as they leave violence with the billion dollars extra for the Leaving Violence (Program), the extra housing and extra billion dollars for that.'
The government-funded study has tracked more than 16,000 boys and men since 2013 and added an additional 10,000 men in 2024-25.
It is the first of its kind in Australia.