Women and Domestic Violence in Australia

Running head : WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
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WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
The Family Law Act of 1975 defines domestic violence in Australia as “violent,
threatening or other behavior by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person's
family, or causes the family member to be fearful.” It refers to all those people who are or have
been in an intimate relationship in a domestic environment and have experienced any kind of
violence. This is also referred to as family violence. A survey revealed that one out of every
three women experience domestic violence in Australia (Berns,2017). Approximately two lakh
incidents of domestic violence have been reported between 2014 and 2016. The Australian
Bureau of Statistics confirmed that men and women who have experienced domestic violence
never foled a complaint with the police. It is very unfortunate that all over the world we are
celebrating International Women’s Day but we cannot protect women and promise them a safe
future.
In Australia, White Ribbons Day is celebrated on 22nd November signifying the protest
against domestic violence on women. The government of Australia has taken some action in
order to reduce domestic violence and sexual violence on Australia. Indigenous women are more

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WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
prone to domestic violence (Chappell&Curtin,2013). This has become a major welfare issue in
Australia.

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WOMEN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Violence can adversely affect a women’s health. It can lead to depression, self-harm and
also trigger the chances of HIV/AIDS. It is believed that today more and more women ar abused
by their intimate partners. Violence also affects women psychologically. There are many reasons
why women are abused by their partners. It is often due to less or no education, alcohol abuse,
drug abuse, low level of income and other such causes. Sexual violence are caused by men
against women in most of the cases. Reports suggest that women are likely to go through sexual
violence during their childhood. Girls are touched inappropriately and molested by relatives or
strangers. Today, dating violence is also a cause everyone needs to worry about. However,
domestic and dating violence is not only among the uneducated and lower class people but also
among the rich and educated class.