Witnessing parental violence before the age of 15

Information regarding witnessing parental violence before the age of 15 was obtained from men and women aged 18 years and over in the 2021-22 PSS.

The PSS asked respondents if they ever saw or heard violence being directed at one parent by another (or by a partner who wasn’t a parent) before the age of 15.

In the context of this topic:

• Violence refers to physical assault only.
• Mother includes step-mothers and female guardians or caregivers. Partner includes the respondent’s father/stepfather, and the mother’s boyfriend or same-sex partner.
• Father includes step-fathers and male guardians or caregivers. Partner includes the respondent’s mother/stepmother, and the father’s girlfriend or same-sex partner.

Respondents were asked whether they ever saw or heard any of the following being done to their mother and father by a partner, before the age of 15:

• threw anything that could hurt them
• pushed, grabbed or shoved
• slapped
• kicked, bit or hit with a fist
• hit with something else that could hurt
• beaten
• choked
• stabbed with a knife
• shot with a gun
• any other type of physical assault.

Respondents who reported having seen or heard any of the above being done to their mother and/or father by a partner were then asked how many times they saw or heard these things being done – ‘once or twice’ or ‘more than twice.’

The data items and related output categories for this topic are contained within the SPS Level – Witness Violence tab in the data item list available under Downloads.

The data can be used to examine:

• the estimated prevalence (number and rate) of persons who have witnessed violence towards a parent by a partner before the age of 15
• the relationship between witnessing violence towards a parent by a partner before the age of 15 and later experiences of violence as an adult
• the relationship between experiences of child physical abuse, sexual abuse and witnessing violence before age 15.

The data cannot be used to examine:

• the prevalence of partner violence, as it only includes incidents of physical assault towards a parent by a partner that were witnessed by the respondent before the age of 15. Violence may have occurred but not been witnessed by the respondent, or the violence may have occurred after the respondent turned 15.
• current rates of children witnessing parental violence, and whether rates have increased or decreased over time. Witnessing parental violence as a child, as collected in the PSS, is a retrospective measure and cannot be used to monitor changes over time. As such, this data should not be compared across PSS cycles.

The following should be considered when using and interpreting data for this topic:

• The information collected was based on the respondent’s perceptions of the violence as a child, and their subsequent recollection of the events as an adult.

This topic was first collected in the 2016 PSS.  No changes were made to the topic for 2021-22.