Latest news with #domesticviolence
SBS Australia
2 hours ago
- Health
- SBS Australia
One in three Australian men admit to using intimate partner violence, new national study finds
This article contains references to domestic violence. Mental ill health and poor father-son relationships have been revealed as key factors that could contribute to men's violence against women. A longitudinal study conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) surveyed men and boys in 2013/14 and again in 2022 for critical insights into factors influencing the use of violence. The research has produced the first national estimate of male intimate partner violence perpetration, with the 2022 study finding more than one-in-three Australian men aged 18 to 65 have used intimate partner violence in their lifetime. This is up from one-in-four men who reported ever having used intimate partner violence among the same cohort surveyed in 2014. The latest study also found an estimated 120,000 men nationally were starting to use violence for the first time each year. Emotional-type abuse was the most common form of intimate partner violence, with 32 per cent of men in 2022 reporting they had ever made an intimate partner feel "frightened or anxious". Meanwhile, 9 per cent reported ever "hitting, slapping, kicking or otherwise physically hurting" an intimate partner when they were angry. Mental health and quality relationships with their fathers were found to have an impact on men's use of violence. Men with moderate or severe depressive symptoms were 62 per cent more likely to use intimate partner violence. The correlation between depression and violence did not mean one caused the other, but it was important to be aware of the impact of mental health, Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin said. "This sort of data gives us really good evidence on how to target interventions and investment," she told AAP. "It tells us that we need to be aware of the prevalence and the number of men using violence, and recognise that if someone is talking to a GP about their mental health, for example, it's worth asking those extra questions about their use of violence." Men who felt strongly that they had a quality relationship with a father or father figure during childhood, marked with affection, were 48 per cent less likely to report ever having used intimate partner violence. Cronin said paternal relationships where boys could talk about their feelings with their fathers appeared to be a protective factor against using violence later in life. The longitudinal data provided a set of risk factors to help develop effective policies and programs for young men, report co-author Sean Martin said. "Understanding the risk factors to these behaviours is critical," he said. Newly appointed Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the research was concerning but not surprising. "To end domestic and family violence we need to invest in the frontline services that help people and keep them safe, but we also need to stop the behaviours that lead to it," she said. "Obviously that trend is in completely the wrong direction and it's very important that we continue to focus on getting those numbers down," she said. "This report is useful because it also presents us with some of the key protective factors that make it much less likely that men will use violence. It shows that good mental health, good social connection and good relationship with a father or father figure early in life are very strong, very strong protective factors." Plibersek said the Labor government had committed an additional $1 billion to mental health services, including the rollout of Medicare walk-in mental health clinics. If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit . In an emergency, call 000.
CBS News
4 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Ohio man kills wife before graduation party in murder-suicide, authorities say
A husband fatally shot his wife before killing himself ahead of a graduation party they were set to host in Ohio, officials said. In a post on Facebook, the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office said law enforcement was called to a home in Dover Township on Sunday around 1:30 p.m. for reports of a shooting. The sheriff's office said a 911 caller said she was at the home preparing for a graduation party when the shots were fired. The party was for a child who lived at the home but was not in the house when the shooting happened because the party was set to happen hundreds of yards away from the home on the couple's property, authorities said. The caller reportedly told 911 that a man in the home shot his wife and then shot himself. When law enforcement arrived, the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office said they found a man dead on his bed and a woman fatally injured on the floor near the bed. The woman was taken to a hospital in Cleveland, where she died. CBS affiliate WTRF identified the victims as 53-year-old April Houston and 64-year-old Robert Houston. They were husband and wife and lived at the home, the TV station reported. The Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office said preliminary information suggests the deaths were a murder-suicide, but a motive was not immediately known. No other details were released. Dover Township is about 85 miles north of Cleveland and about 100 miles west of Pittsburgh.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Obscene courtroom outburst of Beanie Babies attacker who beat woman into coma
A combat veteran arrested for violently beating a woman inside the California home of the Beanie Babies CEO made an obscene gesture as he appeared in court on Monday. Russell Maxwell Phay, 42, is facing charges of attempted murder, burglary, kidnapping, and assault for the attack on 60-year-old Linda Malek-Aslanian at reclusive CEO Ty Warner's Montecito, California home. The victim, Malek-Aslanian is a financial services expert who once worked for Warner's hotels division, was comatose due to a brain injury. Police say the former Army combat soldier, who once claimed he was 'trained to eliminate' his enemies, broke into the home and demanded everyone leave on May 21. When officers then arrived at the scene, they found Malek-Aslanian outside with 'severe injuries' and Phay 'barricaded' in a second-story bathroom. He allegedly tried to evade arrest by jumping from the bathroom window, but was tackled to the ground by sheriff's deputies and K-9 officers. Phay has been held at the Santa Barbara County jail without bail. He appeared at the Santa Barbara Superior Court on Monday - where he previously pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Exclusive photos for from the court appearance show the veteran in gray coveralls with a blue undershirt giving the middle finger to a photographer at the scene. In the end, Judge Stephen Foley ordered that Phay - whose wrists and ankles were restrained - undergo a mental evaluation. Police have said they were called to Warner's mansion about a disturbance shortly after 4.30pm, and found Phay holed up inside. Officers feared the suspect had hostages inside, and deployed a BearCat armored vehicle, K-9 officers and a helicopter as they set up a perimeter. Authorities were ultimately able to enter the home in search of victims - and discovered that the occupants, including Warner himself, had escaped. Phay, though, was still hiding in a restroom upstairs. At that point, crisis negotiators were deployed to try to talk Phay into coming out of the bathroom - but Phay attempted to flee out of the window instead. Prosecutors now claim Phay entered Warner's home with the 'intent to commit larceny' before assaulting Malek-Aslanian and inflicting 'great bodily injury'. The criminal complaint said Malek-Aslanian 'was particularly vulnerable'. Yet officials have said they do not believe Phay personally knew his alleged victim, a financial services expert 'who once worked for Warner's hotels division', KSBW reports. Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch, who branded the case as 'very serious', has also filed special allegations against Phay, claiming he poses 'serious danger to society'. The Army veteran appears to have a history of alleged violence, and was named in ac criminal complaint as recently as last year, when he allegedly threatened a couple over the phone according to KEYT. Phay was also arrested in in Siskiyou County in 2018 and charged with battery and assault, but the case was dismissed last year. Additionally, in 2014, Phay allegedly threatened his wife and followed her across state lines after she tried to flee with their son. A violent attack against his wife resulted in a prison sentence, but upon his release Phay was eligible for diversion programs that targeted ex-military personnel battling mental health issues. He told The San Francisco Chronicle after his release: 'They've recognized that I am salvageable. I need treatment, and I've gotten treatment. I feel like people here understand the brotherhood.' Phay left the Army as a trained infantry combat soldier with specialized weapons training, telling the newspaper how 'I have been trained to eliminate you'. He admitted that his remark 'sounds crazy, but it is true.' Phay was expecting to serve in Kuwait, but his tour of duty expired before he could be deployed. In the charging documents for his latest alleged offense, DA Savrnoch cited Phay's previous criminal records, which he claimed were 'both numerous and of increasing severity'. He also alleged that Phay's behavior on probation, parole, and post-release supervision was 'unsatisfactory'. The suspect is now due back in court on June 30.
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Very concerning': One in three Australian men admit to intimate partner violence, horror study finds
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'. '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. 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.
CBS News
9 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
DeKalb County man charged with attacking family member, deputies in Big Rock, Illinois
A man was charged with beating a family member and then attacking deputies in Big Rock, Illinois, over the weekend. Koda Uebel, 18, of Waterman, Illinois, was charged with six felonies, including attempted first-degree murder, aggravated domestic battery, aggravated domestic battery with strangulation, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm to a person 60 years or older, and two counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer. He was also charged with four misdemeanors, including domestic battery with physical contact, domestic battery causing bodily harm, resisting a peace officer, and possession/consumption of alcohol by a minor. The Kane County Sheriff's Office said on Saturday, just after midnight, deputies responded to a report of a domestic disturbance in progress involving two family members at a home in the 300 block of Lincoln Avenue. Deputies, through a locked front door, saw Uebel punching, slapping, and kicking a 71-year-old woman, whom he also threatened to kill. After deputies forced their way to intervene in the assault, Uebel attacked the deputies. A Taser was deployed on him, but he remained combative and bit one of the deputies during the arrest, causing injury, the office said. Uebel was eventually restrained and arrested. The woman was taken to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital with serious injuries and remains hospitalized with her condition stabilized. The injured deputy and Uebel were also taken to Delnor Hospital for evaluation and treatment. The deputy was released the same night, and Uebel was released into the custody of the Kane County Sheriff's Office. He is due back in court on June 5.
