Crime Statistics Agency releases 2019-20 Victorian Family Violence Database

2 December 2020

MEDIA RELEASE

9:00AM Wednesday 2 December 2020

Crime Statistics Agency releases 2019-20 Victorian Family Violence Database

The Crime Statistics Agency has today released key family violence measures from the 2019-20 Victorian Family Violence Database.

Key findings:

• The number of family incidents recorded by Victoria Police increased by 6.7% from 82,651 in 2018-19 to 88,214 in 2019-20. This represents an increase of 5% in the rate of incidents per 100,000 population.
• Ambulance Victoria and Victorian public hospital emergency presentations for family violence related injuries increased compared to the prior financial year. In 2019/20 Ambulance Victoria recorded a 14.7% increase in the number of family violence related attendances, and emergency room presentations increased by 13.5% compared with 2018-19.
• The number of finalised family violence intervention orders issued decreased by 5.3% for both the Magistrates’ and Children’s Court of Victoria compared to the prior financial year. The total number of services provided by Victoria Legal Aid for family violence intervention order applications and breaches decreased by 3.7% in 2019-20 from the previous financial year. This may be related to interruptions to some justice system processes due to COVID-19.
• There were increases in the number of family violence support services provided by some agencies. The number of women and children victim-survivors who received a service from a specialist homelessness agency increased by 3.8% in 2019-20. The number of family violence related calls or referrals to the Victims of Crime Helpline increased 8.2% compared to 2018-19.

Crime Statistics Agency Chief Statistician Fiona Dowsley noted the increases recorded across emergency services responding to family violence.

“In the last 12 months, there has been an increase in family incidents recorded by Police and in the number of emergency care services provided for injuries sustained from family violence,” Ms Dowsley said.

“The increased number of reports made to emergency services is concerning, because it may indicate an increase in the severity of family violence which has promoted people to seek an emergency response.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of restrictions to combat the spread of the virus may have impacted trends observed in the later months of the 2019-20 financial year.

The Crime Statistics Agency will continue to track family violence trends throughout the pandemic in the COVID-19 Family Violence Data Portal (External link), which was first published in November 2020.

For further information please contact:
Crime Statistics Agency

Email: info@crimestatistics.vic.gov.au (External link)