11 December 2020
This paper examines family violence perpetrators who were recorded by police as perpetrating at least one incident between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017.
Key findings include:
Seven distinct ‘types’ of family violence perpetrators can be identified using police records, including four groups who perpetrated violence against their intimate partner and three groups who perpetrated violence against another type of family member (not against an intimate partner).
There were notable differences between groups in terms of their demographic characteristics, risk factors identified by police, frequency of family violence perpetration and other offending behaviour.
Two groups of prolific family violence perpetrators were identified, with these perpetrators the most likely to also perpetrate violence against non-family members, the most likely to be substance affected at the time of the incident, and the most likely to be unemployed.
Combining all groups, the research found that 74% of family violence perpetrators were male, with an average age of 35.5 years, and five per cent were Aboriginal.
Perpetrators were over-represented in regional areas of Victoria, with 23% of perpetrators living in regional areas compared to 15% of the population of Victoria.
In terms of where perpetrators reside, the most disadvantaged areas of Victoria were also substantially over-represented, with 50% of perpetrators living in the 30% most disadvantaged areas of the state.
Half (51%) of perpetrators had been recorded for at least one other family violence incident in the 12 years prior.
Seven 'types' of family violence perpetrators in Victoria
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