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DEFINING FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

It is acknowledged that there is no single nationally or internationally agreed definition as to what constitutes 'Family Violence", 'Domestic Violence' or any similar term. Different definitions may be specified in legislation or be required in different contexts and jurisdictions. It is also acknowledged that definitional requirements may evolve and change in the future, with regard to either the range of behaviours considered abusive or the nature/type of relationships included.

The term 'Family and Domestic Violence' is used generally throughout this Directory to reflect the mixed use of the terms 'Family Violence', 'Domestic Violence' and is a combination of the various contextual elements implicit in these individual terms, including relationships, location of offences, and/or domestic arrangements. Terms used in specific data source entries, reflect the definition employed by that data source.

As used in this Directory, the term 'Family and Domestic Violence' covers a wide range of abusive behaviours committed in the context of intimate relationships such as those involving family members, children, partners, ex-partners, or caregivers. Family and Domestic Violence can include many types of behaviour or threats, including: physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse and intimidation, economic and social deprivation, damage of personal property and abuse of power. Types of relationships also vary and can include family and co-habitation, while some are specific to family violence legislation such as cultural and kinship relationships, foster care relationships, blood relatives who do not co-habit or care situations, such as elder abuse. Further information about the issues in defining Family and Domestic Violence are discussed in Chapter 2 of Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2013 (cat no. 4529.0)

To assist readers in determining which Directory data sources may be appropriate for their purposes, detailed metadata has been provided about the definitions used by each data source.

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