Often when violence occurring behind closed doors make media headlines, the neighbours interviewed by journalists will share an all too common response: “this kind of thing doesn’t happen around here.”
But the horror of domestic and family violence doesn’t contain itself to certain suburbs, states or parts of Australia. While an uptick in violence may occur as a result of significant issues impacting an area – such as restrictive lockdowns, or in the recovery periods that follow massive disasters – domestic and family violence can and does happen everywhere.
The latest findings of the world’s longest running survey of community attitudes towards violence against women suggest that almost half of Australians mistakenly don’t believe the problem is something that affects their local area.
Released this morning by ANROWS in Canberra, the National Community Attitudes Survey (NCAS), based on the responses of 19100 Australians (taken in 2021), found that while 91 per cent believe violence against women is a problem in Australia, only 47 per cent of respondents believe it is a problem in their own suburb or town.
These stats highlight a greater need to reveal how violence against women can occur anywhere.
But also the survey revealed a disconnect between who Australians believe are the primary perpetrators of violence. Two in five people still mistakenly believe that domestic violence is perpetrate by both men and women equally, according to the results – a 23 per cent increase in such a proportion believe this, since the 2009 survey. This belief comes despite recent finding from the ABS Personal Safety Survey, which found that most victim-survivors of domestic violence name a male perpetrator.
Despite these findings, there was good news to come out of the survey, including findings that reveal a greater understanding of the different forms of violence, as well as an understanding and rejection of sexual violence.
Eighty one per cent of respondents agreed that controlling a partner by denying them money was a form of domestic violence, up from 53 per cent in 2013. Meanwhile, 81 per cent of respondents disagreed with the idea that women find it flattering to be persistently persued, even when they are not interested – a rise from 68 per cent in 2017.
ANROWS CEO Padma Raman PSM said on the finding that there is still significant work to do on improving attitudes and understanding about family, domestic and sexual violence.
“Whilst these findings show really pleasing shifts in Australians’ attitudes towards sexual violence, we still have a long way to go in correcting victim-blaming attitudes and rape myths.”
“Over the last decade we’ve seen an improvement in understanding of family and domestic violence, including recognising non-physical forms of violence, but it is extremely worrying that many Australians don’t understand that domestic violence is predominantly perpetrated by men against women.”
Amanda Rishworth, the Minister for Social Services, says this research can help in identifying gaps in our understanding and where we need to focus efforts on addressing violence.
“Ending violence against women and children is everybody’s responsibility and everybody’s business,” she said.
“A key piece in ending violence against women and children is addressing the attitudes that can support it. This includes attitudes that deny gender equality, that seek to limit women’s autonomy in relationships and that objectify women and disregard consent.”
While violence against women can occur in any area, we know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are facing significantly higher rates of domestic and family violence across the country.
A second report released by ANROWS, also today and based on the experience in Queensland, shares how First Nations voices have been sidelined from decision-making and the response, often to devastating consequences.
With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children vastly overrepresented in child protection systems, the research found that the current systems were often disciplinary in approach, and created further trauma and hard for children and young people, resulting in negative life-long conseqyenes. As one community researcher put it, the current systems fail to respond in healing-focused ways.
Working with eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community research teams across regional and remote Queensland, and led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander chief investigators, ANROWS is urging policymakers and practitioners across the system to consider the findings and adopt what has been described as the Healing our children and young people framework as a matter of urgency.
Key stats from the NCAS, regarding 2021 opinions on violence against women:
· 1 in 4 respondents believed that a woman who does not leave an abusive partner is partly responsible for the abuse continuing.
· 2 in 5 respondents said they would not know how to access domestic violence services.
· 37% of respondents thought women going through custody battles often make up or exaggerate claims of domestic violence to gain tactical advantage in their case.
· 41% of respondents agreed that many women mistakenly interpret innocent remarks as sexist.
· 1 in 3 respondents thought women exaggerate the unequal treatment of women in Australia.
· 34% of respondents believed that it is common for sexual assault accusations to be used as a way of getting back at men.
· 24% of respondents believed that a lot of times women who say they were raped had led the man on and later had regrets.
· 1 in 4 respondents believed that when a man is very sexually aroused, he may not even realise that the women doesn’t want to have sex.
· Nearly one quarter (23%) of respondents agreed that much of what is called domestic violence is a normal reaction to day-to-day stress and frustration.
· 85% of respondents did not believe that domestic violence can be excused if the violent person genuinely regrets what they have done. This rose from 71% in 2009 and 74% in 2013 but was similar to the percentage in 2017.
· 84% of respondents did not believe that domestic violence can be excused if it results from someone getting so angry that they temporarily lose control. This rose from 76% in 2013 but was similar to the percentage in 2017.
You can read the separate report, You Can’t Pour from an Empty Cup, an initiative by Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak – in partnership with ANROWS and Australian Catholic University, here.