This report presents information collected from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2016 Personal Safety Survey (PSS) and supplementary data drawn from a number of other ABS data sources about experiences, characteristics and outcomes of violence, cohabiting partner violence and emotional abuse, sexual harassment and stalking for persons living with disability.
Risk of violence
The 2016 PSS found that living with disability or a long-term health condition raised the likelihood of experiencing various types of violence for women but not for men. These include physical violence by any perpetrator, violence by a cohabiting partner (physical and/or sexual), emotional abuse by a cohabiting partner, sexual harassment by any perpetrator, and stalking by any perpetrator.
The difference was greatest for violence by a cohabiting partner (physical and/or sexual), where women with disability were twice as likely to experience violence by a cohabiting partner as women without disability.
The rate of sexual violence was similar for women with and without disability or a long-term health condition.
Type of violence experienced over a 12-month period | Women with disability or a long-term health condition | Women without disability or a long-term health condition |
---|---|---|
Violence by any perpetrator (physical and/or sexual) | 5.9% | 4.3% |
Physical violence by any perpetrator | 4.8% | 2.9% |
Sexual violence by any perpetrator | 2.2% | 1.6% |
Violence by a cohabiting partner (physical and/or sexual) | 2.5% | 1.3% |
Emotional abuse by a cohabiting partner | 6.3% | 4.1% |
Sexual harassment by any perpetrator | 19% | 17% |
Stalking by any perpetrator | 3.7% | 2.7% |
For men, disability or a long-term health condition raised the risk of experiencing stalking only (2.5% compared with 1.4%).
Type of violence experienced over a 12-month period | Men with disability or a long-term health condition | Men without disability or a long-term health condition |
---|---|---|
Violence by any perpetrator (physical and/or sexual) | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Physical violence by any perpetrator | 5.1% | 5.5% |
Sexual violence by any perpetrator | 0.7%* | 0.9%* |
Violence by a cohabiting partner (physical and/or sexual) | 1.1%* | 0.6%* |
Emotional abuse by a cohabiting partner | 4.7% | 3.8% |
Sexual harassment by any perpetrator | 10% | 8.7% |
Stalking by any perpetrator | 2.5% | 1.4% |
* Estimate has a relative standard error of between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.
The type and severity of disability were also found to impact on the likelihood of victimisation. Both women and men with intellectual/psychological disability were more likely than those with physical disability to experience violence (physical and/or sexual) and emotional abuse by a cohabiting partner, however the difference was more pronounced for women.
The PSS also found that women living with intellectual/psychological disability were more likely to experience cohabiting partner violence (physical and/or sexual) compared with women living with physical disability.
Type of violence experienced over a 12-month period | Women with intellectual/psychological disability | Women with physical disability(a) |
---|---|---|
Violence by any perpetrator (physical and/or sexual) | 15% | 5.2% |
Violence by a cohabiting partner (physical and/or sexual) | 6.5% | 2.2% |
Emotional abuse by a cohabiting partner | 12% | 5.7% |
- Includes physical disability, sight/hearing/speech disability, and head injury/stroke/brain damage disability.
Type of violence experienced over a 12-month period | Men with intellectual/psychological disability | Men with physical disability(a) |
---|---|---|
Violence by any perpetrator (physical and/or sexual) | 12% | 5.8% |
Emotional abuse by a cohabiting partner | 6.8% | 4.7% |
- Includes physical disability, sight/hearing/speech disability, and head injury/stroke/brain damage disability.
Persons living with disability or a long-term health condition were also more likely to have experienced abuse by an adult before the age of 15. The 2016 PSS found that 20% of adults with disability or a long-term health condition experienced physical and/or sexual abuse before the age of 15, compared with 11% of adults without disability or a long-term health condition.
Socio-demographic characteristics of victims
The 2016 PSS found that for persons living with disability or a long-term health condition the likelihood of experiencing violence (physical and/or sexual) was higher for the following socio-demographic groups:
- Persons aged 18 to 24 years of age (17%) and 25 to 34 years of age (13%) compared with those aged 35 years and above (all below 10%)
- Persons belonging to the lowest, second, and third quintiles of socio-economic disadvantage (6.4%, 6.5% and 6.8% respectively) compared with those belonging to the highest (3.5%)
- Persons born in Australia or overseas in a main English-speaking country (6.2%) compared with those born overseas in a non-main English-speaking country (3.8%)
The 2014 General Social Survey also found that of persons living with disability or a long-term health condition, those who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other were more likely to experience physical and/or threatened violence (19%) compared with those who identified as heterosexual (8.2%).