Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major health, welfare and social issue that can have lifelong impacts for victims and people who use violence (perpetrators). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Personal Safety Survey, 2.2 million Australians have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner and 3.6 million Australians have experienced emotional abuse from a partner. About 2.2 million Australians have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are subject to much greater levels of violence, including sexual violence, than other Australian women . In Australia, Aboriginal women are five times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to be victims of homicide by a current or former partner [2]. Nationally, hospitalization for injury is more common for Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal Australians but is considerably less common for females than males for both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations. However, the incidence of hospitalization for injury caused by assault is 30-50 times higher for Aboriginal than for non-Aboriginal women in early and middle adulthood.
Hospital admission rates of 13-17 year olds for conditions “indicative” of physical abuse have been reported as 13.5 times greater for Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal girls with a trend of increase across the period from 1999 to 2010 while the incidence of hospitalisation after assault has only been reported separately for sex and broad age groups. Information provided by BMC Public Health
Friday November 25th marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Heather O’Dea Manager Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Mpartnwe/Alice Springs says this year global theme is 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence .
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