Family violence ‘emergency’ claim based on 2004 statistic

The Victorian government is basing its claims about family violence on 12-year-old statistics.

A statistic repeatedly used by the Victorian government to support its claim that Australia faces a “national emergency” of family violence is based on a 2004 study that compared the health impact of domestic violence to preventable illnesses such as smoking, alcohol abuse and obesity.

The 12-year-old statistic — that domestic violence causes more death, injury and illness in women under 45 than any other preventable factors — is quoted in the opening paragraph of the government’s submission to the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews again cited the 2004 figure on ABC’s Australian Story on Monday night.

The findings of the royal commission will be released today.

The 2004 study, “The health costs of violence: measuring the burden of disease caused by intimate partner violence”, found that for women under the age of 45, domestic violence accounted for almost 8 per cent of total health issues, including death and disability, while illicit drugs, alcohol abuse and smoking accounted for less than 2 per cent.

Problems caused by domestic violence included murder, suicide, anxiety, depression, eating disorders and sexually transmitted diseases, the study found. “Intimate partner violence has a greater impact on the health of Victorian women under the age of 45 than any other risk factor,” the 2004 report says.

“The burden contributed by this form of violence is greater than that for many other risk factors, such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and illicit drug use.”

However, a health and wellbeing plan released by the Victorian government last September said cardiovascular disease and untreated blood pressure was the leading cause of health issues relating to a preventable disease, with mental health and substance abuse the second largest cause of disability or non-fatal disease in the state.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures from 2014 show the leading causes of death for Australian women are heart disease, dementia and breast cancer.

Rod Moodie, chief executive of VicHealth when the report was handed down, said it would be a “good idea” to revisit the statistics given their age. “I’d imagine … that both the incidence and prevalence of family violence has not diminished,” Professor Moodie said.