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• Family
  • Families getting on together
  • Parental disciplinary style
  • Domestic violence
    • Trend: overall
    • Table: summary (rate)
    • Table: summary (n)
    • Trend: age (rate)
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What does this mean?

In Kids Stats domestic violence refers to incidents where children and young people have been exposed to violence or verbal threats in their home or by a member of their family. This exposure may be through direct experience or through observing violence towards others. 

Why is it important to monitor?

The sense of stability and security a family can provide to children and young people is threatened when violence occurs within families.

In addition to increased risk of physical injury and harm, exposure to domestic violence has a range of longer-term mental health and social outcomes on children and young people. These include:

• behavioural problems such as aggression
• delinquency and truancy
• emotional problems including anxiety, depression and low self-esteem
• interpersonal difficulties such as poor social skills and mistrust of others
• poor academic achievement.

Indicator

The indicator used in Kids Stats to monitor domestic violence is:

The number of children and young people aged 0-17 years who were protected persons on a Domestic Apprehended Violence Order, as a rate per 1,000 children and young people aged 0-17 years

Main findings

• From 1996 to 2000 there was a marked increased in the rate of children and young people aged 0-17 years nominated as protected persons on a Domestic Apprehended Violence Order in NSW. The rate remained relatively stable between 2000 and 2005
• The rate of children and young people aged 0-17 years nominated as protected persons is consistently higher for females than males over the period 2001 to 2005
• Age is a factor. A higher rate of children and young people aged 15-17 years are nominated as protected persons than those in younger age groups over the period 2001 to 2005.

Notes: [1] Wolak, J. & Finkelhor, D. (1998). Children exposed to partner violence. In J.L. Jasinski and L.M. Williams (Eds.) Partner violence: A comprehensive review of 20 years of research. Sage, Thousand Oaks, C.A, p73-111.
[2] Kolbo, J.R., Blakely, E.H. & Engleman, D. (1996). Children who witness domestic violence: A review of empirical literature. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 11, 281-293

For details of the references and to find out more about the data follow the link to glossary and further information.