Final Evaluation Report

14.Introduction

1.1 Background

KPMG was engaged by the Department of Social Services to undertake an evaluation of the Second Action Plan 2013-2016 - the second of four plans in the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 (the National Plan). The evaluation was required to help build the evidence base about what works in addressing the complex problem of violence against women and children in Australia and to inform future iterations of action plans being developed under the National Plan.

The National Plan has provided the vehicle for cooperation across all levels of government as well as with NGOs, businesses, sporting groups and the broader community to address the issue of violence against women and children. With the Second Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2013-2016 (the Second Action Plan) due to be complete this year, it is timely to evaluate progress and identify areas that require further attention in the Third Action Plan.

Domestic and family violence is an issue that is continuing to gain increasing national prominence with high profile advocates such as Australians of the Year, Rosie Batty and David Morrison, leading national campaigns to raise awareness about violence against women and gender inequality. The public exposure of this issue and frequent media reports on the incidence of violence adds further impetus to the need for governments to continue working together to tackle violence against women and their children.

Due to the lack of consistent data collection on rates of domestic and family violence across the country, it is difficult to determine whether the incidence of domestic and family violence is increasing.

The ABS has recently released experimental statistics on domestic and family violence as recorded by police services to develop a national picture of the problem. The data show the numbers of domestic and family violence related assaults during 2015 were as follows:

• 
  Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – 639 victims (or 2 per thousand persons);
  
• 
  New South Wales (NSW) – 29,518 victims (or 4 per thousand persons);
  
• 
  Northern Territory (NT) – 4,282 victims (or 18 per thousand persons);
  
• 
  South Australia (SA) – 6,727 victims (or 4 per thousand persons);
  
• 
  Western Australia (WA) – 14,603 victims (or 6 per thousand persons); and
  
• 
  Tasmania (Tas) – 1,137 (or 2 per thousand persons).¹
  

Data was not recorded for Queensland and Victoria because the interpretation and implementation of the National Crime Recording Standard rule 2 for assault incidents varied from the standard for Victoria and Queensland.

The most comprehensive data on the overall prevalence of domestic and family violence can be found in the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety Survey (PSS) results. The last PSS showed that nearly 34 per cent of women had been physically assaulted since the age of 15, and 19 per cent of women had been sexually assaulted.² Groups at high risk of experiencing domestic and family violence include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, people with a disability, people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI), the elderly and children. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women with a disability suffer significantly from domestic violence: 24 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and 22 per cent of women with a disability reported having experienced violence in the 12 months prior to being surveyed. This is 4 to 5 times higher than the incidence reported for the general population³.

Further, there are significant costs to the community due to loss of ability to work and higher long-term physical and mental health costs for both the women and their children involved. In a report for the Australian Government on the costs of domestic violence, KPMG estimated that violence against women and their children cost the Australian economy $22 billion in 2015-16 and that accounting for under-representation of cohorts such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, pregnant women, women with a disability, and women experiencing homelessness, could add an estimated additional $4 billion to these costs in 2015-16.⁴

1.2 The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children

The National Plan embodies a collective commitment by governments to work towards the vision of Australian women and their children living free from violence in safe communities and achieving a significant reduction in violence against women and their children. The Plan sets out six national outcomes for government to deliver over the term of the Plan:

1. 
   Communities are safe and free from violence;
   
2. 
   Relationships are respectful;
   
3. 
   Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are strengthened;
   
4. 
   Services meet the needs of women and their children experiencing violence;
   
5. 
   Justice responses are effective; and
   
6. 
   Perpetrators stop their violence and are held to account.
   

The Plan is being implemented via four three year action plans as shown in Figure 1.1 below. Both the First Action Plan, Building a Strong Foundation 2010-2013, and the Second Action Plan, Moving Ahead 2013-2016, have been completed.

Figure 1.1: The National Plan to reduce Violence against Women and their Children

Source: KPMG 2016

Work under the First Action Plan was built around four national priorities: building the evidence base; building primary prevention capacity; enhancing service delivery; and strengthening justice responses. The review of the First Action Plan confirmed that work over the first three years of the National Plan had laid the foundations for change and provided a platform for work to drive further change. It also highlighted that the work to date was not sufficient to reduce violence against women and their children and that further commitment from all levels of government and non-government stakeholders was required to successfully deliver on the vision of the National Plan.