1 in 7 Australians have experienced childhood abuse
An estimated 2.7 million Australians aged 18 years and over (14 percent or one in seven) have experienced childhood abuse, according to information from the 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey (PSS) released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Childhood abuse in the PSS includes physical and/or sexual abuse perpetrated by an adult before the age of 15.
Will Milne, ABS head of crime and justice statistics, said: “We found that approximately 18 per cent of women and 11 per cent of men have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse during their childhood. This is around 1.7 million women and 1 million men.”
Women were more likely to have experienced sexual abuse (11 per cent) than physical abuse (10 per cent) during their childhood, whereas men were more likely to have experienced physical abuse (8.3 per cent) than sexual abuse (3.6 per cent).
Most people who experienced childhood abuse knew the perpetrator. The survey found that 1.9 million people (10 per cent) experienced childhood abuse by an adult family member, while nearly 380,000 (2 per cent) experienced abuse by an adult within an institutional setting.
People who experienced childhood abuse were more than three times as likely to experience partner violence as an adult.
“About 28 per cent of people who experienced abuse before the age of 15 went on to experience physical or sexual violence by a partner later in life. This is compared with 8.4 per cent of people who didn’t experience abuse during childhood but experienced partner violence as an adult,” Mr Milne said.
The PSS also asked people whether they witnessed parental physical violence before the age of 15.
The survey results showed that 13 per cent of adults (2.6 million) witnessed violence towards a parent by a partner during childhood.
“We found 16 per cent of women and 11 per cent of men witnessed violence towards their mother or father by a partner before the age of 15. This represents an estimated 1.6 million women and 1 million men,” Mr Milne said.
The survey also found that people who witnessed parental violence during childhood were more than twice as likely to experience partner violence as an adult (25 per cent) compared with those who did not witness parental violence during childhood (9.3 per cent).
“We would like to acknowledge the experiences of everyone affected by childhood abuse in Australia, and thank those who took part in this survey. By sharing their experiences they have helped inform our understanding of childhood abuse in Australia,” Mr Milne said.
If you or anyone you know is in need or crisis, please call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline (13 11 14).
Grab 1
We found from the Personal Safety Survey that one in six women and one in nine men experienced physical or sexual abuse from an adult during their childhood. This is about 1.7 million women and 1 million men.
Grab 2
We found that those who experience childhood abuse, compared to those that didn’t, were over three times more likely to go on and experience violence by a partner.
Grab 3
Our survey showed that nearly one in six women and one in nine men have witnessed parental violence during their childhood. That’s about 1.6 million women and 1 million men.
Media notes
- Physical abuse includes any deliberate physical injury (including bruises) inflicted upon a child (under the age of 15 years) by an adult. Excludes discipline that accidentally resulted in injury, and physical abuse by someone under the age of 18.
- Sexual abuse includes any act by an adult involving a child (under the age of 15 years) in sexual activity beyond their understanding or contrary to currently accepted community standards. Excludes sexual abuse by someone under the age of 18.
- The PSS asks respondents if they ever saw or heard violence being directed at their mother/father by a partner before the age of 15. Violence in this context refers to physical assault only.
- Mother includes step-mothers and female guardians or care-givers. The mother’s partner includes the person’s father/step-father, or other intimate partner (cohabiting or non-cohabiting).
- Father includes step-fathers and male guardians or care-givers. The father’s partner includes the person’s mother/step-mother, or other intimate partner (cohabiting or non-cohabiting).
- Institutional perpetrator includes foster carer, guardian or other person associated with care placement, doctor, nurse or other health professional, disability support worker or carer, teacher, other school-related staff, childcare worker, recreational leader, priest, minister, rabbi, nun or other person in an official position associated with a place of worship, staff in a children's home, residential care or orphanage, corrective services or detention facility personnel, and other staff member in an institution.
- In the PSS, violence is defined as any incident involving the occurrence, attempt, or threat of either sexual or physical assault since the age of 15.
- Partner includes someone the person lives with, or lived with at some point, in a married or de facto relationship. This may also be described as a cohabiting partner.
- The PSS collects information from persons aged 18 years and over about the nature and extent of violence experienced since the age of 15, and their past experiences of child abuse and witnessing parental violence before the age of 15. Summary prevalence statistics from the 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey are published in Personal Safety, Australia.
- When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
- For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team via media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri).
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