A ground-breaking national study has revealed a troubling rise in domestic violence among Australian men, with more than one in three admitting to using emotional or physical abuse against a partner — a sharp increase from one in four men a decade ago.
The findings come from the Australian Institute of Family Studies’ Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health — the most comprehensive research of its kind globally. The study surveyed around 16,000 men aged 18 to 65 in 2013–2014, with a further 10,000 added in a follow-up survey conducted in 2023–2024.
Participants were asked if they had ever behaved in ways that frightened or emotionally distressed their partner, or if they had physically harmed their partner during moments of anger — including slapping, hitting, kicking or other forms of assault.
Alarmingly, 35 per cent of respondents in the latest study answered “yes” to one or both questions, up from 24 per cent a decade earlier. Nearly 9 per cent openly admitted to physically abusing their partner.
Federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek described the data as deeply concerning. “This is a trend that’s clearly going in the wrong direction,” she said. “We are now seeing around 120,000 Australian men each year committing partner violence for the first time. That’s 120,000 too many.”
The government is now under increased pressure to invest further in education, prevention, and intervention programs aimed at tackling toxic masculinity and promoting respectful relationships.
Plibersek also emphasised the importance of community-led initiatives, noting that long-term change must begin at the grassroots level. “We need to reshape cultural attitudes and behaviours. Violence is never acceptable — not in any form, not ever.”
The report comes at a time when Australia is grappling with a national reckoning on gender-based violence, prompting renewed calls for urgent systemic change.
