Summary
Aim
This bulletin uses data recorded by the New South Wales (NSW) Police to provide information on the trends and patterns in domestic violence assaults in NSW.
Abstract
Domestic violence is an issue that arouses widespread and justifiable public concern. Six to nine per cent of Australian women aged 18 and over are physically assaulted each year. In the majority of cases, the assailant is a man they know. This bulletin uses data recorded by the New South Wales (NSW) Police to provide information on the trends and patterns in domestic violence assaults in NSW. The trends in recorded incidents of domestic violence assault between 1997 and 2004 are described. Data on incidents of domestic violence assault that occurred during 2004 are used to examine the spatial distribution of domestic violence assault in NSW and the locations and premises at which these assaults occur. These data are also used to examine the time of day, day of week and month that incidents occur, as well as the involvement of alcohol in domestic violence assaults. Information about victims and perpetrators involved in incidents of domestic violence assault in 2004 is then provided, including their gender, age, Indigenous status, victim-offender relationship and any injuries they sustained during a domestic violence assault. The bulletin concludes by examining the relationship between domestic violence assault and several socio-economic factors.