Australia
ANROWS, Intimate partner sexual violence: Research synthesis.
This resource provides an overview of ANROWS evidence relating to intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV). It includes key facts on prevalence, as well as an overview of key issues, including evidence that:
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IPSV is a high-risk indicator.
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IPSV has serious and long-lasting effects.
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IPSV usually co-occurs alongside other tactics of DV.
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Community attitudes toward issues of sexual activity and consent show that sexual violence, and in particular IPSV, is not understood well, or taken seriously.
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IPSV is difficult to name and recognise.
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There are many barriers to reporting IPSV.
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Incidents are underreported and hard to prosecute.
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Responses to and services for IPSV need further resourcing and development.
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Education and prevention programs do not sufficiently address IPSV.
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Current research on IPSV faces limitations with small population groups and definitional issues.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4510.0 - Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia, 2024.
Victims of Domestic and Family Violence-Related Offences
This chapter presents experimental data about victims of selected Family and Domestic Violence (FDV) –related offences. Victims of selected offences have been determined to be FDV–related where the relationship of offender to victim, as stored on police recording systems, falls within a specified family or domestic relationship or where an FDV flag has been recorded, following a police investigation.
Key findings include:
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There were 14,059 victims of FDV related sexual assault recorded nationally in 2023.
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Around two in five (39%) of all sexual assaults recorded in 2023 were FDV related.
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Victims of FDV related sexual assaults were most commonly:
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Female (88% or 12,400 victims)
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Between 10 and 17 years of age at the date of the incident (34% or 4,763 victims)
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Most FDV related sexual assaults:
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did not involve the use of a weapon (94% or 13,277 victims)
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occurred in a residential location (92% or 12,895 victims)
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were reported within a year (58% or 8,133 victims)
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The offender was most commonly recorded as:
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intimate partner in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, ranging from 49% in Victoria to 69% in the Australian Capital Territory
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other family member in New South Wales (52%) and Queensland (48%)
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Personal Safety, Australia, 2023, ABS cat no. 4906.0 (2016).
This release presents information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey (PSS).
The PSS collected information from persons aged 18 years and over about the nature and extent of their experiences of violence, including detailed information about experiences of:
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physical and sexual violence
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violence, emotional abuse, and economic abuse by a cohabiting partner
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stalking
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sexual harassment
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childhood abuse and witnessing parenting violence before the age of 15
This publication presents high level prevalence statistics and changes over time for key violence types collected in the survey.
Women | Men |
|---|---|
Prevalence since the age of 15 | |
2 in 5 women experienced violence (39%) | 2 in 5 men experienced violence (43%) |
1 in 5 women experienced sexual violence (22%) | 1 in 16 men experienced sexual violence (6.1%) |
1 in 3 women experienced physical violence (31%) | 2 in 5 men experienced physical violence (42%) |
1 in 5 women experienced stalking (20%) | 1 in 15 men experienced stalking (6.8%) |
Prevalence of intimate partner and family member violence since the age of 15 | |
1 in 4 women experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member (27%) | 1 in 8 men experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member (12%) |
1 in 12 women experienced violence by a family member (8.1%) | 1 in 17 men experienced violence by a family member (5.9%) |
1 in 4 women experienced violence by an intimate partner (23%) | 1 in 14 men experienced violence by an intimate partner (7.3%) |
1 in 11 women experienced violence by a boyfriend, girlfriend, or date (9.3%) | 1 in 44 men experienced violence by a boyfriend, girlfriend, or date (2.3%*) |
1 in 6 women experienced cohabitating partner violence (17%) | 1 in 18 men experienced cohabiting partner violence (5.5%) |
1 in 4 women experienced cohabiting partner emotional abuse (23%) | 1 in 7 men experienced cohabiting partner emotional abuse (14%) |
1 in 6 women experienced cohabiting partner economic abuse (16%) | 1 in 13 men experienced cohabiting economic abuse (7.8%) |
Australian Law Reform Commission (2024) Justice Responses to Sexual Offences.
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) was asked to inquire into justice responses to sexual violence in Australia..
This Inquiry forms part of the Australian Government’s commitment to strengthen and harmonise sexual assault and consent laws, and to improve outcomes and experiences for victim-survivors in the justice system. This Inquiry will be informed by, and build on, the comprehensive Inquiries and reviews previously undertaken in several Australian jurisdictions.
The ALRC has published an issues paper (2024) with report expected in January 2025.
Campo, Monica (2015) Domestic and family violence in pregnancy and early parenthood: Overview and emerging interventions (Practitioner Resource) Australian Institute of Family Studies, Commonwealth of Australia.
This resource for family violence practitioners highlights the following:
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Women are at an increased risk of experiencing violence from an intimate partner during pregnancy.
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If domestic and family violence already exists, it is likely to increase in severity during pregnancy.
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Young women, aged 18–24 years, are more likely to experience domestic and family violence during pregnancy.
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Unintended pregnancy is often an outcome of an existing abusive relationship.
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Poor birth outcomes (such as low birth weight, premature birth) and post-natal depression are associated with domestic and family violence during pregnancy.
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The long-term effects of exposure to domestic and family violence in utero are just emerging.
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There are several promising interventions for preventing and reducing violence during pregnancy.
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Pregnancy and early parenthood are opportune times for early intervention as women are more likely to have contact with health and other professionals
Coumarelos, C., Weeks, N., Bernstein, S., Roberts, N., Honey, N., Minter, K., & Carlisle, E. (2023). Attitudes matter: The 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS), Findings for Australia. (Research report 02/2023). ANROWS.
This report details the results from the 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS). The survey sample consisted of 19,100 Australians aged 16 years or over, who were interviewed via mobile telephone. Regarding forms of abuse that are ‘always recognized as domestic violence:
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Behaviours threatening physical injury or a forced medical procedure, such as forced contraception or abortion (81–92% of respondents always recognized as domestic violence).
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Non-physical forms of domestic violence involving financial and emotional abuse or control, including tracking via technology (66–75%).
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Violence involving the exploitation of aspects of a partner’s identity or experience, such as chronic health conditions, sexual diversity, religion and migrant status, were also less well recognised (66–73%).
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Electronic harassment and abuse, such as via texts, emails, social media and sending unwanted sexual images (68–78%) (p23)
The study provided a number of statements and asked respondents if they agreed with them. For example: women lie about sexual assault as a way of “getting back at men” (34% agree) or because they later regret consensual sexual interactions (24% agree). The study found that 25% of respondents agreed that men might disregard consent because an aroused man “may not realise” the woman does not want to have sex; 18% agreed that sexual assault is primarily committed by strangers, 7% agreed that “genuine” sexual assault victims immediately report their assault to police (7%) and 5% agreed that rape victims would have have evidence of physical injuries.(p25)
This literature review examines the intersection between sexual assault and domestic violence. In relation to consent, the paper highlights that the ability to provide consent for sexual activity may be compromised when it is occurring within the context of the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV). This is because the perpetration of IPV creates a climate of ongoing fear or control (p 29). Additionally, for sexual violence perpetrated by intimate partners, demonstrating lack of consent is complicated because sexual violence may have been perpetrated in a context where consensual relations may have taken place before and/or after the assault, and in the context of established patterns of sexual behaviours that do not include verbalised consent (p 29).
Understandings of consent in established relationships affect how intimate partner sexual violence is framed both by victims as well as third parties. See pages 47-48 for a discussion of the way social norms affect what is understood as “real rape” (non-consensual sexual activity). Importantly, research has found that intimate partner sexual violence is viewed by the community as both less serious and more justifiable than sexual assault by a stranger or acquaintance (p 47). Indeed, the greater the familiarity between the victim/survivor and perpetrator, the greater likelihood that reports will be considered a lie or misinterpretation (p 47).
IPSV victims/survivors themselves often face difficulty in recognising sexual violence as violence, assault or rape (p 26). Similarly, research shows that younger women rarely identify sexually coercive behaviours by boyfriends as sexual assault, and tend to excuse sexually violent behaviour by saying that their own behaviour justified the assault or by pointing to extenuating circumstances (p 48). This again points to the strength of commonly held perceptions of what “counts” as consensual or non-consensual sexual activity.
Doherty, L. and Dowling, C. (2024) Perpetration of sexual violence in a community sample of adult Australians, Sydney: Australian Institute of Criminology.
This study examines the rate of sexual violence perpetration in a community sample of adult Australians. Data were collected through a survey of a proportional quota-based sample of 5,076 Australian residents aged 18-45 years.
Just over one in five respondents (22.1%, n=1124) had perpetrated one or more of the forms of sexual violence examined since turning 18 years of age, and one in 10 (9.9%, n=504) had done so in the past 12 months. Men were significantly more likely than women to have perpetrated any and each form of sexual violence examined, and to have perpetrated multiple forms of sexual violence.
Heather Douglas and Katherine Kerr, ‘Domestic and family violence, reproductive coercion and the role for law’ (2018) 26(2) Journal of Law and Medicine 341-355.
Although sexual abuse has been extensively analysed in the literature, little is known about the extent and nature of reproductive coercion – an issue that has far-reaching consequences which often manifest in poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes, and may also result in pregnancy and parenting in a violent relationship. Reproductive coercion is broadly defined as the interference with a woman’s reproductive and sexual autonomy. The authors draw on interviews conducted with women who had experienced DFV and were involved with the legal system. Results indicated a link between sexually abusive behaviour and reproductive coercion. Not only does reproductive coercion sometimes occur within a context of violent and controlling behaviours, but those behaviours may reinforce or co-occur with the perpetration of reproductive coercion. Some of the women in the study described being pressured into doing various sexual activities they were not comfortable with. Other women perceived sexual abuse as normal and did not usually name the behaviour as sexual assault or rape. In a violent intimate relationship, the underlying dynamic is one where the abuser uses numerous tactics to assert power and control over his partner. For some women, sex and reproduction are part of that dynamic.
Heenan, Melanie, ‘Just “Keeping the Peace”: A Reluctance to Respond to Male Partner Violence’ (Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault Issues No 1, Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2004).
This review provides a comprehensive overview of a variety of Australian and international research and literature on sexual violence in intimate partner relationships with specific discussion of women’s (including Indigenous women) experiences. This review identifies some of the reasons victims might be reluctant to disclose a partner’ or ex-partner’s sexually abusive behaviour. These include fear of retaliation, fear of rejection by family and friends, fear of the loss of the relationship, feeling ashamed or that they have failed in their perceived duty as a wife, and hope that things will change. A victim may be at a heightened risk of sexual abuse by their ex-partner after the relationship has ended.
Henry, Nicola, Asher Flynn and Anastasia Powell, Image-based sexual abuse: Victims and perpetrators (Australian Institute of Criminology Report No. 572 March 2019).
Report abstract:
Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) refers to the non-consensual creation, distribution or threatened distribution of nude or sexual images. This research examines the prevalence, nature and impacts of IBSA victimisation and perpetration in Australia. This form of abuse was found to be relatively common among respondents surveyed and to disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with a disability, homosexual and bisexual people and young people. The nature of victimisation and perpetration was found to differ by gender, with males more likely to perpetrate IBSA, and females more likely to be victimised by a partner or ex-partner.
Mouzos, Jenny, and Toni Makkai, ‘Women's Experience of Male Violence: Findings from the Australian Component of the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS)’ (Research and Public Policy Series No 56, Australian Institute of Criminology, 2004).
This paper reports on the findings of the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS), which was conducted across Australia between December 2002 and June 2003. A total of 6,677 women aged between 18 and 69 years participated in the survey. The authors report that 5-7% of women who had a current or former intimate partner reported that their partner had forced them to have sexual intercourse at some stage during their lifetime. A further 3-4% of these women reported that their partners had attempted to force them to have sexual intercourse, and a similar proportion experienced unwanted sexual touching (pp44-46). The authors also consider the under-reporting of sexual violence.
Tarrant, Stella, Julia Tolmie and George Giudice, Transforming legal understandings of intimate partner violence: Final report (ANROWS, 2019).
This report analyses a West Australian homicide case. The analysis shows how sexual violence against the defendant who was charged with killing her abusive husband, is rendered invisible in the case. Despite the evidence of sexual violence against the defendant, the sexually abusive behaviours played little or no part in the consideration of previous violence(see in particular pp 83-84). The defendant gave evidence of sexually abusive behaviours including that the deceased had forced her repeatedly to perform sexually in front of Skype cameras and that he had raped her when she resisted watching child sexual abuse on laptops in their bedroom. The report argues that old common law understandings of marital unity and rape immunity, despite law reform, still influence our legal understandings of sexual violence within intimate partnerships.
A summary of implications for policy and practice is also available at this link.
Tarrant, S., Douglas, H. & Tubex, H. (2022) Sexual Offences: Background Paper. The Law Reform Commission of Western Australia.
This paper discusses background social issues relevant for considering sexual offence laws. The authors examine the issues from three perspectives: The harmfulness of sexual violence; common misconceptions about sexual violence; and complainants’ experiences of the criminal justice system. It provides a thorough literature review of the issues explored. See especially 1.1 which explores sexual violence as controlling behaviour that is embedded in social relations. Section 2 considers commonly held myths and misconceptions about sexual violence.
This report is focused on health outcomes associated with intimate partner violence. The research reports that where sexual violence is involved bruising, tears and lacerations to the vaginal area and anus are common (p20). The report also identifies implications for reproductive health including sexually transmitted diseases, urinary tract infections, and terminations of pregnancy and complications of pregnancy (p21).
Zilkens, Renate et al, ‘Sexual assault and general body injuries: A detailed cross-sectional Australian study of 1163 women’ (2017) 279 Forensic Science International 112-120.
Of 1163 Australian women seen at a sexual assault centre, 71% received a general body injury (52% mild, 17% moderate, and 2% severe) (p 115). Moderate to severe injury was observed more frequently in women assaulted by intimate partners than by strangers or acquaintances. In particular, the prevalence of non-fatal strangulation, biting, the use of blunt force and weapons was higher for women assaulted by intimate partners compared to any other group (p 117). The presence of mental illness in the victim also affected the severity of the injury (p 119).
International
Bagwell-Gray, M. et al.,(2021), ‘Women’s Reproductive Coercion and Pregnancy Avoidance: Associations With Homicide Risk, Sexual Violence, and Religious Abuse’,Violence Against Women 27(12-13):2294-2312, doi: 10.1177/10778012211005566
This survey study explores patterns of reproductive coercion (RC) and pregnancy avoidance (PA) among women recruited from domestic violence shelters in the southwestern United States (N = 661). Younger, African American, and Hispanic women were more likely to experience RC. Homicide risk, sexual intimate partner violence (IPV), and religious abuse were associated with RC, and RC and homicide risk were associated with PA. We discuss implications of the associations between RC and PA and their links to religious abuse, sexual IPV, and homicide risk.
Twenty-one percent of the sample indicated that their partner used religious teachings or traditions as a reason to control daily activities. 217 women (33%) experienced reproductive coercion. Specifically, 31% (n = 207) of participants reported their partner tried to get them pregnant when they did not want to be pregnant and 17% (n = 114) reported that their partner physically hurt them or threatened to leave if they did not get pregnant.
Bows, Hannah and Nicole Westmarland, ‘Rape of Older People in the United Kingdom: Challenging the ‘Real-Rape’ Stereotype’ (2017) 57 British Journal of Criminology 1-17.
While advances have been made in understanding sexual violence broadly, this article addresses the gap in knowledge regarding older victims of rape and sexual violence (p 5). In order to do so, the researchers used freedom of information requests to obtain data from 45 police forces relating to 655 cases (p 6). The findings challenge dominant real-rape stereotypes, which involve a ‘white, young victim who is attacked at night by a stranger who is motivated by sexual gratification’ (p 3), and can lead to older victims of sexual violence being ignored or disbelieved (pp 3-4). Key findings include:
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The ‘overall number of reported offences involving an older victim was low when compared with younger age groups’ (p 6);
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Consistent with existing knowledge on younger groups, most victims were female, and most perpetrators were male (pp 7-8);
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Perpetrators of sexual violence against older people were likely to be younger than their victims, with the majority under 60 years of age (p 8);
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Most perpetrators were known to the victim, with around 20% being a partner or husband (p 9); and
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Most of the assaults occurred in the victim’s home (p 9).
Miller, Elizabeth, et al, ‘Reproductive Coercion: Connecting the Dots Between Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy’ (2010) 81(6) Contraception 457.
This paper reports that the prevalence of intimate partner violence reported among women utilizing sexual health services and seeking care in gynecologic and adolescent clinics is generally double these population-based estimates. It reports that such victimization is consistently associated with increased pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI), with abused women demonstrating disproportionately higher rates of seeking care at family planning and other health services related to sexual health, such as HIV and STI testing. Moreover, they report on evidence that unintended pregnancy occurs more commonly in abusive relationships. Forced sex, fear of violence if she refuses sex, and difficulties negotiating contraception and condom use in the context of an abusive relationship all contribute to increased risk for unintended pregnancy and STIs.
Moore, Ann, Lori Frohwirth and Elizabeth Miller, ‘Male Reproductive Control of Women Who have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence in the United States’ (2010) 70 Social Sciences and Medicine 1737.
This article reports on the histories of 71 women aged 18-49 years with a history of intimate partner violence recruited from a family planning clinic, an abortion clinic and a domestic violence shelter in the United States. 53 respondents (74%) identified ‘male reproductive control’ encompassing pregnancy-promoting behaviours as well as control and abuse during pregnancy in an attempt to influence the pregnancy outcome. The authors explain that pregnancy promotion involves male partner attempts to impregnate a woman including verbal threats about getting her pregnant, unprotected forced sex, and contraceptive sabotage. Once pregnant, male partners resort to behaviours that threaten a woman if she does not do what he desires with the pregnancy. This paper provides a thorough overview of the literature in the US on the relationship between intimate partner violence and pregnancy/reproductive health, and the characteristics of abusive relationships which affect ‘poor pregnancy outcomes’.
Paradiso, M.N., Rolle, L. and Trombetta T. (2024) ‘Image-based sexual abuse associated factors: A systematic review’,, Journal of Family Violence 39:931-954, doi: 10.1007/s10896-023-00557-z
This study aims to review and systematise research focused on factors (i.e. predictors and consequences) associated with Image Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA) victimisation, perpetration, and propensity to perpetrate. 17 studies were included in this systematic review, most were conducted in the United States (5) or in Canada (3).
Three studies were conducted in Australia, two in the United Kingdom, and two were multi-centric studies performed in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. One study was carried out in the Netherlands, and one was conducted in Nigeria. The study observes that although IBSA does not only occur within intimate relationships, in some cases it seemed to correlate with other forms of intimate partner violence. The authors observe that IBSA victims suffered from a wide range of negative psychological, relational, and social effects (including anxiety and PTSD and social withdrawal). Often victims did not seek help as where images had initially been consensually shared they felt ashamed and embarrassed.
Ullman, S.E., Shepp, V. and O’Callaghan, E. (2024) ‘Survivors’ experiences of sexual assault by intimate partners: A qualitative study of survivors and their informal supports’, J Fam Viol 39:875-887, doi: 10.1007/s10896-012-00535-5
This study examines the rate of sexual violence perpetration in a community sample of adult Australians. Data were collected through a survey of a proportional quota-based sample of 5,076 Australian residents aged 18-45 years.
Just over one in five respondents (22.1%, n=1124) had perpetrated one or more of the forms of sexual violence examined since turning 18 years of age, and one in 10 (9.9%, n=504) had done so in the past 12 months. Men were significantly more likely than women to have perpetrated any and each form of sexual violence examined, and to have perpetrated multiple forms of sexual violence.
Walker, Susan and Sam Rowlands, ‘Reproductive control by others: means, perpetrators and effects’ BMJ Sex Reproductive Health 61-67
People exert control over women’s reproductive rights in various ways, including persuasion or pressure, such as emotional blackmail, societal or family expectations, or threats of or actual physical violence. This article reviews the medical and social science literature on reproductive control of women. Reproductive control can be perpetrated by intimate partners, the wider family or as part of criminal behaviour. Contraceptive sabotage, or ‘stealthing’, invalidates consent by the covert removal of a condom during sex. Reproductive control is distinct from intimate partner violence, but they overlap to a certain extent. Reproductive control is reported by around one quarter of women who attend sexual and reproductive healthcare services. Therefore, people working in women’s health must appreciate its extent in the community, and understand how to use screening tools which detect it.
Australian and international studies demonstrate the prevalence of sexual and reproductive abuse as a form of domestic and family violence that may be part of a broader and complex pattern of abusive behaviours experienced by a victim (sometimes referred to as coercive control).
Sexual abuse as a form of domestic and family violence includes rape, sexual assault, or sexual victimisation perpetrated predominantly by men against women. Behaviours may include: forced, attempted forced or unwanted sexual penetration; forced penetration by a third party, object or an animal; forced prostitution; forced or unwanted sexual touching; non-consensual sharing of nude or sexual images or forced partial or total removal of the victim’s external genitalia, or other mutilation or injury to the victim’s genital organs for reasons that are not medically warranted (sometimes referred to as female genital mutilation or FGM). Any of these behaviours may be facilitated or aggravated by alcohol or drugs, and may also be associated with physical and other forms of domestic and family violence. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that in 2024 domestic and family violence-related sexual assault accounted for around two in five (39%) of the total number, and victims were female in 88% of cases.
Proof of the victim’s lack of consent in judicial processes is central to establishing sexually abusive behaviours and their criminality. The issue of consent is profoundly complicated by the nature and circumstances of the relationship between victim and perpetrator. Sexual abuse may be part of a broader pattern of domestic and family violence, and a victim may only comply due to coercion by the perpetrator. Coercion may not necessarily involve physical force; rather, psychological means may be used. For example: demeaning the victim’s physical appearance, intelligence and dignity; dictating that the victim meet the perpetrator’s sexual demands; or threatening to severely or fatally injure or abandon the victim if those demands are not met.
Australian research indicates that sexual abuse in this context is the least likely form of domestic and family violence to be reported by victims. Unique contributing factors may include a victim’s lack of awareness of the criminality of sexually abusive behaviours, especially where the perpetrator is a current for former partner; cultural or religious beliefs and traditions; a fear of reprisal by the perpetrator against the victim or other family members; a sense of betrayal of trust and violation of intimate personal and psychological boundaries by the perpetrator; debilitating feelings of shame and self-blame; anxiety associated with health and reproductive risks; and an apprehension of re-victimisation through the reporting and judicial processes.
Domestic and family violence may commence or escalate, or its patterns may change, during a victim’s pregnancy. In some reported cases, the violence lessened and victims came to view pregnancy as a means of self-protection. More often however, the perpetrator is likely to regard the pregnancy and change in family circumstances as a threat to previously held dominance and may intensify abusive behaviours in an effort to reassert control over the victim.
A pregnant person in an abusive relationship is less likely to want or to have planned her pregnancy and may seek a termination to avoid further risk of harm to themselves or the child; to avoid having to parent with the perpetrator; or to better enable her escape from the abusive relationship. However, if the pregnant person is experiencing heightened levels of monitoring and manipulation by the perpetrator, the pregnant person may be prevented from accessing the funds, transport and other means necessary to terminate the pregnancy. Physical and other forms of violence experienced during pregnancy may result in the pregnant person’s death or foetal death, pre-term birth, low birth weight, or extreme stress in the mother manifested, for example, in eating and sleep disorders, poor weight gain, inadequate access to antenatal care, misuse of alcohol or drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, and mental illness.
Reproductive violence or abuse, sometimes called reproductive coercion extends to earlier perpetrator behaviours specifically intended to coerce (or end) pregnancy. For example: rape, insisting on unprotected sex, sabotaging the birth control measures (destroying pills, pulling out vaginal rings or contraceptive implants) or forcing a person to use them, exercising financial control so as to restrict the person’s access to contraception or abortion, or threatening to leave her if she fails to conceive or refuses an abortion. Where a victim is also experiencing other forms of violence there is an increased risk of unintended pregnancy as the person is more likely to fear the consequences of resisting the perpetrator’s coercion, and may be significantly vulnerable to poor reproductive and general health.
Sexual and reproductive abuse may be one aspect of a complex pattern of behaviours engaged in by perpetrators in order to control another person, sometimes referred to as coercive control.
Australian and international studies demonstrate the prevalence of sexual and reproductive abuse as a form of domestic and family violence that may be part of a broader and complex pattern of abusive behaviours experienced by a victim (sometimes referred to as coercive control).
Sexual abuse as a form of domestic and family violence includes rape, sexual assault, or sexual victimisation perpetrated predominantly by men against women. Behaviours may include: forced, attempted forced or unwanted sexual penetration; forced penetration by a third party, object or an animal; forced prostitution; forced or unwanted sexual touching; non-consensual sharing of nude or sexual images or forced partial or total removal of the victim’s external genitalia, or other mutilation or injury to the victim’s genital organs for reasons that are not medically warranted (sometimes referred to as female genital mutilation or FGM). Any of these behaviours may be facilitated or aggravated by alcohol or drugs, and may also be associated with physical and other forms of domestic and family violence. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that in 2024 domestic and family violence-related sexual assault accounted for around two in five (39%) of the total number, and victims were female in 88% of cases.
Proof of the victim’s lack of consent in judicial processes is central to establishing sexually abusive behaviours and their criminality. The issue of consent is profoundly complicated by the nature and circumstances of the relationship between victim and perpetrator. Sexual abuse may be part of a broader pattern of domestic and family violence, and a victim may only comply due to coercion by the perpetrator. Coercion may not necessarily involve physical force; rather, psychological means may be used. For example: demeaning the victim’s physical appearance, intelligence and dignity; dictating that the victim meet the perpetrator’s sexual demands; or threatening to severely or fatally injure or abandon the victim if those demands are not met.
Australian research indicates that sexual abuse in this context is the least likely form of domestic and family violence to be reported by victims. Unique contributing factors may include a victim’s lack of awareness of the criminality of sexually abusive behaviours, especially where the perpetrator is a current for former partner; cultural or religious beliefs and traditions; a fear of reprisal by the perpetrator against the victim or other family members; a sense of betrayal of trust and violation of intimate personal and psychological boundaries by the perpetrator; debilitating feelings of shame and self-blame; anxiety associated with health and reproductive risks; and an apprehension of re-victimisation through the reporting and judicial processes.
Domestic and family violence may commence or escalate, or its patterns may change, during a victim’s pregnancy. In some reported cases, the violence lessened and victims came to view pregnancy as a means of self-protection. More often however, the perpetrator is likely to regard the pregnancy and change in family circumstances as a threat to previously held dominance and may intensify abusive behaviours in an effort to reassert control over the victim.
A pregnant person in an abusive relationship is less likely to want or to have planned her pregnancy and may seek a termination to avoid further risk of harm to themselves or the child; to avoid having to parent with the perpetrator; or to better enable her escape from the abusive relationship. However, if the pregnant person is experiencing heightened levels of monitoring and manipulation by the perpetrator, the pregnant person may be prevented from accessing the funds, transport and other means necessary to terminate the pregnancy. Physical and other forms of violence experienced during pregnancy may result in the pregnant person’s death or foetal death, pre-term birth, low birth weight, or extreme stress in the mother manifested, for example, in eating and sleep disorders, poor weight gain, inadequate access to antenatal care, misuse of alcohol or drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, and mental illness.
Reproductive violence or abuse, sometimes called reproductive coercion extends to earlier perpetrator behaviours specifically intended to coerce (or end) pregnancy. For example: rape, insisting on unprotected sex, sabotaging the birth control measures (destroying pills, pulling out vaginal rings or contraceptive implants) or forcing a person to use them, exercising financial control so as to restrict the person’s access to contraception or abortion, or threatening to leave her if she fails to conceive or refuses an abortion. Where a victim is also experiencing other forms of violence there is an increased risk of unintended pregnancy as the person is more likely to fear the consequences of resisting the perpetrator’s coercion, and may be significantly vulnerable to poor reproductive and general health.
Sexual and reproductive abuse may be one aspect of a complex pattern of behaviours engaged in by perpetrators in order to control another person, sometimes referred to as coercive control.