3.1 Prevalence of violence
The costs of a particular condition in a given year can be estimated using a prevalence approach or an incidence approach. The difference between the approaches relates to how they each capture the occurrence of the condition, which in this case is violence against women and their children.
- A prevalence approach measures the costs associated with domestic violence in a specific year, based on the number of women experiencing violence in that year. That is, it includes the costs of all domestic violence occurring in that year.
- An incidence approach measures the lifetime costs (net present value of current and future costs) associated with domestic violence in a given year, based on the number of new cases of violence in that year. That is, it includes the costs of domestic violence occurring in that year for the first time.
While an incidence approach is “… useful for modelling the progress of a disease and its costs over time, it is less useful in the case of domestic violence which has no typical pattern, either of the nature of the abuse or in the types and frequency of services used36.”
The cost estimates in this report have been calculated using a reported prevalence approach based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety Survey (PSS) data36a. Importantly (as with most studies in this field), the approach captures reported violence only – in other words, unreported violence is not included.
3.2 Women experiencing violence
Based on population estimates in Australia, Table 7 shows the estimated number of women who will report violence in 2021-22 if no action is taken.
Table 7: Women experiencing reported domestic violence37
| |
2021-22 |
| Physical assault |
194,817 |
| Sexual assault |
31,061 |
| Sexual threat |
44,069 |
| Stalking |
8,322 |
| Emotional abuse |
212,824 |
| Total victims/survivors (domestic) |
385,426 |
| Total victims/survivors (non-domestic) |
362,057 |
| Total victims/survivors38 |
747,483 |
The estimated number of women who will experience and report domestic violence in 2021-22 is 385,426. Most of this will be in the form of emotional abuse (55 per cent) followed by physical assault (51 per cent). A further 362,057 women will experience non-domestic violence (available data prevents the same breakdown by type of violence as for domestic violence). Without appropriate action, some 747,483 women will experience and report violence in 2021-22.
3.3 The costs of violence
The following sections detail the costs of violence based on the prevalence of reported violence shown above to 2021-22. The sections provide details for each of the seven major cost categories and show the impact in terms the cost sub-categories and who bears the cost.
All figures relate to domestic violence, unless otherwise indicated. In many cases, the available data prevents us from breaking down the costs of non-domestic violence to the same level of detail that is possible for domestic violence. Section 11 presents the effects of including the costs of non-intimate partner violence on total costs of violence.
We note that with the implementation of the Plan of Action and increased awareness of the costs of domestic violence against women and their children, there is likely to be an initial increase in the number of cases of reported violence (and an associated increase in costs). However, a reduction in levels of violence over time can be expected as the initiatives gain traction. This pattern of prevalence in reported violence is presented for illustrative purposes only in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Profile of women experiencing violence (for illustrative purposes only)
The expected number of women experiencing violence if no action is taken is represented by the green profile. The number of women experiencing violence if the Plan of Action is implemented is represented by the red profile. The red profile reflects the anticipated increase in reporting of violence initially, followed by reduced levels of violence over time as the initiatives take effect.
The gap between the two profiles represents the additional cost or saving (depending on the particular year). The average savings are represented by the average of the difference between the green and red profiles over the total period. The avoided costs referred to in this report are the costs associated with victims/survivors’ experience of violence that are avoided, regardless of changes in aggregate levels of reported violence (which could be increasing or decreasing at the time of prevention).
Violence against women and their children will cost the Australian economy an estimated $13.6 billion in 2008-0939. The Plan of Action sets out an action agenda until 2021. This timeframe recognises the need for long-term investment and commitment in order to achieve long-term and sustainable change. The following sections present the estimated costs of violence against women and their children that can be anticipated to 2021-22 without appropriate action to address this problem.
Note that the following sections 4-10 present the costs relating to domestic violence only and differ from the costs presented in the overview. Section 11 provides information on how the costs of non-domestic violence are incorporated into the overall cost estimate.