Personal safety survey: User guide

This User Guide contains details about the 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey (PSS), which collected information from a sample of households over the period March 2021 to May 2022. Its purpose is to help data users correctly understand and interpret the data and assess its ability to meet their needs. It includes information about the purposes of the survey, the concepts and contents contained within, and the methods and procedures used to collect the data and produce the estimates. The guide also describes any differences between the 2021-22 survey and earlier PSS surveys (including the 1996 Women’s Safety Survey) and the comparability of data over time.

The PSS was previously conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 2016, 2012 and 2005. The survey is adapted from the design of the Women's Safety Survey (WSS) which was conducted in 1996.

The survey collected information from men and women aged 18 years and over about the nature and extent of violence experienced since the age of 15. It also collected detailed information about men's and women's experience of:

• violence, emotional abuse, and economic abuse by a cohabiting partner
• sexual harassment in the last 12 months
• stalking
• abuse and witnessing parental violence during childhood
• general feelings of safety.

The 2021-22 PSS meets the need for updated information on the nature and extent of violence experienced by men and women in Australia, and other related information regarding people’s safety at home and in the community that has not been collected since 2016.

The requirement for data on the prevalence of violence and sexual assault is discussed in The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 (updated now to The National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, and in the following ABS Information Papers:

• Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2013
• Directory of Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence Statistics, 2018
• Bridging the data gaps for family, domestic and sexual violence, 2013
• Foundation for a National Data Collection and Reporting Framework for family, domestic, and sexual violence, 2014

In developing the concepts and definitions used in the survey, the ABS was assisted by a Survey Advisory Group, which included members with legal and crime research backgrounds. Where appropriate, the definitions of physical and sexual violence used were based on actions which would be considered as offences under State and Territory criminal law.

The ABS publishes data relating to crime from different sources, including both administrative and survey data. Different collection methodologies can produce different statistics. For example, statistics derived from police administrative systems differ from those obtained through household surveys, because not all incidents are reported to the police. Also, responses in surveys may be affected by the ways in which questions are asked.

The ABS acknowledges the lives and experiences of people affected by violence and abuse who are represented in data produced from this survey, and would like to thank respondents for their participation in the survey. Their participation has contributed valuable information that will help to inform public debate about violence and shape further development of policies and programs aimed at reducing the prevalence of violence.

The ABS would also like to acknowledge the support and input of the Department of Social Services (DSS), which provided funding for the 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey under the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-22 (updated now to the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32), as well as the Survey Advisory Group, who provided the ABS with advice on the priority information to be collected and on some aspects of survey methodology. Members of this group included representatives from state and territory and Commonwealth Government departments, crime research agencies, service providers and relevant academics.