Studies show one in three Aussie men admit to intimate partner violence

The number of Australian men who admit to intimate partner violence, from emotional abuse to physical attacks, has risen to one in three, the biggest study of its kind has revealed.

When the same group of 16,000 men were surveyed nearly a decade earlier, just one in four said they had ever used intimate partner violence.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies research also shone a light on the factors that made such abuse more likely, including poor mental health, a lack of social support and the absence of a good relationship with their father in childhood.

The study found that men with high levels of social support were 26 per cent less likely to use intimate partner violence, while men who felt they had a quality relationship with their father or a father figure during childhood were 48 per cent less likely.

Men experiencing depression were 62 per cent more likely to engage in intimate partner violence.

Emotional abuse was by far the most common form of partner abuse, with 32 per cent of those surveyed saying they had ever behaved in a way that had made a partner feel “frightened or anxious”.

That compared to nine per cent who said they had hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically hurt them.

The research is significant because it is the biggest longitudinal study on male health in the world and the only Australian study of its kind. It is being billed as the first national estimate of male intimate partner violence in Australia.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that one in four women and one in fourteen men have been victims of intimate partner violence.

AIFS program lead Sean Martin said the data provided “for the first time” a set of risk factors to help guide programs and policies to reduce partner violence.

“Because intimate partner violence is such a significant and widespread issue — used by people of all ages and backgrounds — understanding the risk factors to these behaviours is critical,” he said.

“Depressive symptoms and a lack of social connection aren’t an excuse by any means, as violence is always a choice, but they do signal where we could be building more supports around men early on, for the sake of their future partners, children and communities.”

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the results were “concerning but sadly 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.

AIFS director Liz Neville said the study’s findings “confirms the extent of the problem”.

“With an estimated 120,000 men starting to use intimate partner violence each year across Australia, we can see more clearly how delays in effective interventions can have devastating consequences,” she said. “Each act of violence harms individuals, families and communities. We hope these disturbing numbers provide the impetus for further action by governments at all levels, underpinned by evidence.”