Nearly 1 in 10 NSW men have faced legal action over domestic, family violence

Disturbing new statistics have painted a bleak picture of men in one Australian state, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Almost one in 10 NSW men have faced legal action from police over domestic and family violence, according to a landmark new report.

Research conducted by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) found that, by the age of 37, 9.6 per cent of men and three per cent of women in NSW had police proceedings bought against them for a domestic or family violence offence.

The study – the first of its kind to be conducted in Australia – used criminal history data from three birth cohorts (1984, 1994 and 2004). Legal actions analysed included criminal infringement notices, a referral to court, cautions and other criminal infringement notices.

Just 1.2 per cent of people were responsible for more than 50 per cent of the recorded offences. Family and domestic violence offenders also accounted for nearly half of all recorded offences by people in each birth year.

Almost one in 10 NSW men have faced legal action from police over domestic and family violence. Picture: NCA Newswire/Gaye Gerard

“This report is the first estimate of the prevalence of recorded family and domestic violence offending in a population sample in Australia, and is an important step towards increasing the visibility of family and domestic violence perpetrators,” AIC deputy director, Dr Rick Brown, told The Guardian.

More than half of the incidents (54 per cent) were perpetrated against an intimate partner. The remaining 46 per cent of cases concerned offenders who were parents, children, siblings and other relatives, household members and carers.

“We’re basically counting incidents that police believe at the time are related to domestic and family violence,” Griffith Criminology Institute director and one of the study’s authors, Professor Jason Payne, said.

“All the other evidence we have about the high prevalence of family and domestic violence in the community would suggest it is not an unreasonable measure to use.”

While the extent of the crisis is confronting, Prof Payne said, such data is important for addressing it.

“We’re having a substantial national conversation at the moment about domestic and family violence,” he said.

“The size of the problem is not something we should be shying away from.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns announced a suite of proposed changes to the state’s Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Nikki Short

The AIC research comes off the back of a suite of proposed changes to NSW’s Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act, including the introduction of two new offences, court orders and increased penalties for repeated and serious breaches of apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVO).

“The safety of victim-survivors of domestic and family violence is paramount and these laws reflect the risk posed by intentional and ongoing breaches of ADVOs,” Premier Chris Minns said.

“Everyone should be able to feel safe in their own home, but all too often for many that is not the case.”

Originally published as Nearly 1 in 10 NSW men have faced legal action over domestic, family violence