Nationwide surveys suggest COVID-19 has increased domestic and family violence in Australia

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-09-09 03:00

Australia; QLD

What does this mean?

Jump to: MultimediaAttachmentsExpert Reaction

Australian scientists surveyed 362 participants from 253 agencies in the domestic and family violence (DFV) sector across Australia to investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic has made DFV worse. Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of service providers said COVID-19 has increased the number of clients reporting DFV, and around the same proportion (67 per cent) reported new clients seeking help for the first time during the pandemic. Women with school-age children were identified as the most vulnerable group.  Concerns were raised about barriers to help-seeking and support via technology rather than meeting face-to-face. In addition, more than a third of respondents (36 per cent) said they had had to reduce or even close services as a result of the pandemic.