One in three Australian men report using emotional or physical violence
The alarming results are an increase from one in four men 10 years ago, with federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek calling it a 'trend ... going in the wrong direction'.
'That equates to about 120,000 extra men every year in Australia using violence for the first time in intimate relationships,' she said.
The Australian Institute of Family Studies' Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health — the largest study of its kind in the world — surveyed about 16,000 men aged 18 to 65 in 2013-2014 and again in 2023-2024, with a further 10,000 individuals added to the database in the second survey.
It asked questions including whether participants had ever behaved in a manner that had made a partner feel frightened or anxious, or had ever hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically hurt a partner when angry.
By the second study, 35 per cent of participants answered yes to one or both of those questions compared with 24 per cent in the first survey.
About 9 per cent of those involved in the second survey admitted to physically abusing their partner.
Plibersek said the study results were concerning.
'It looks at a large cohort of men over a long period of time and, what the research shows is that over about a decade, between the first report and the second report, the number of men who have ever used violence has increased from one in four to one in three,' Plibersek told the ABC.
'Obviously, that's a trend that's going in the wrong direction.'
But she said the research did offer 'good insights', revealing men who had an affectionate father figure as a child were 48 per cent less likely to have committed intimate partner violence.
And men with high levels of social support 'all the time' were 26 per cent less likely to say they had committed intimate partner violence.
'It shows that men who have good mental health, who have good social connections and social supports, and who have a good relationship with a father or father figure when they're young, are all less likely to use violence in their relationships,' Plibersek told the ABC.
Conversely, mental health issues such as depression can increase the incidence of violence.
Men who reported moderate or severe depressive symptoms in 2013-2014 were 62 per cent more likely to report committing violence by the second survey, while those with mild depressive symptoms were 32 per cent more likely.
Those who had experienced suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts were 47 per cent more likely to have committed some form of violence against a partner.
'Extent of the problem'
Australian Institute of Family Studies director Liz Neville said : 'This unique data set, following men over a 10-year period, 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.
'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.'
However the research indicates programs which support men to develop good quality relationships, social connections and to seek support could contribute to a reduction in partner violence.
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