Project background
Family and domestic violence is a major public health issue in Australia and one of the leading causes of preventable illness and harm. The most common form is violence between intimate partners, which is a serious concern among current and former military personnel.
Recent international reviews have explored this issue in military and veteran communities and highlighted several key findings:
- Many military personnel and veterans report experiences with intimate partner violence, either as someone affected by it or as someone who has used it. Studies suggest that when asked, 13% of all personnel and veterans report recent use of intimate partner violence, while 21% report recent instances of exposure. Read more.
- There are very few support programs specifically designed for military and veteran communities, and most focus on helping those who have experienced intimate partner violence, rather than those who have used it. More research is needed to understand what works best. Read more.
- Most of the research so far has come from the United States, where there are long-standing programs in place. There is a need for more studies in other countries, including Australia.
Recent Australian research has provided the first national insights into the extent and impact of intimate partner violence in military and veteran families. The findings are based on data from the 2015 Transition and Wellbeing Research Program – the largest survey ever conducted with current and former Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and their partners.
Key findings include:
- 29% of veterans and 23% of current ADF personnel reported experiencing physical, emotional or sexual abuse in their current relationship.
- Nearly half of veterans' partners (46%) and 1 in 4 partners of current personnel (24%) reported being affected by intimate partner violence – suggesting that some veterans of personnel may be using violence in relationships.
- Emotional abuse was the most common form of intimate partner violence, followed by physical abuse.
- People exposed to intimate partner violence were three-times more likely to be at risk of suicide, highlighting the serious mental health impacts.
- Veterans who use intimate partner violence (as reported by their partners) were often already in contact with health services – more than 90% had seen a GP in the last year, more than half had visited a dentist, and 1 in 3 had visited a psychologist.
These early Australian findings show that intimate partner violence is common in military and veteran families and has serious mental health impacts. They also highlight opportunities to use existing service systems to help identify and respond to the use of violence.
However, there is a clear need for more current data to better understand the scale of the issue and to track progress in reducing violence over time. This need aligns with the Defence Strategy for Preventing and Responding to Family and Domestic Violence 2023–2028, which focuses on collecting consistent data across the Australian Defence Force to to measure how common family and domestic violence is, identify risk factors, and assess the impact of prevention and intervention efforts.