Women's Experiences of Male Violence:
Findings from the Australian Component of the
International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS)
Research and Public Policy Series No. 56
By Jenny Mouzos and Toni Makkai
Canberra, ACT: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2004
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Drugs and Crime: A Study of Incarcerated Female
Offenders Research and Public Policy Series No. 63
By Holly Johnson
Canberra, ACT: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2004

These two research reports present findings from studies carried out for the Australian Institute of Criminology, which is a governmental body. The International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS) was conducted between December 2002 and July 2003 and involved the participation of 6,667 Australian women. The survey was administered by telephone and asked women about their experiences of physical and sexual violence. Mouzos and Makkai’s report focuses upon giving estimates of the nature and extent of male violence Australian women experience.

Overall, 57% of women surveyed had experienced some level of physical or sexual harm within their lifetime, and 10% of them within the last 12 months. Perhaps contrary to assumptions, no statistically significant differences were found between women according to educational attainment, labour force status or combined income. However, age was identified as a risk factor, with young women aged 18-24 five times more likely to have experienced violence within the last twelve months than women over 45. The authors suggest this may be attributable to lifestyle choices. The main predictor of violence in males was exhibiting controlling behaviour. Women who experienced violence as children were likely to experience violence in adulthood.

The report recommends support for parenting as an early intervention method to prevent violence in children’s lives. It also recommends education for young people about how to conduct healthy relationships and increased media campaigns against violence. Services that women can access should be better publicized, and police officers and doctors should put women in contact with other support services where possible. The use of courts specializing in domestic violence should be extended, as they employ a “therapeutic” rather than adversarial approach.

The report’s recommendations for “joined up” services for women and an innovative criminal justice approach are to be welcomed. However, the IVAWS specifically addresses male violence, yet there are no suggestions for tackling problematic male attitudes and behaviour, which are surely the root of the problem.

The second report, Drugs and Crime, presents findings from the Drugs Use Careers of Offenders (DUCO) study that was carried out amongst incarcerated women. Results from the male section provide a basis for comparison. The study was conducted as face-to-face interviews in prisons across six Australian jurisdictions and 470 women participated. Its purpose was to develop interventions built on an evidence base that identifies key risk factors for women for drug use and crime.

The women interviewed had different drug and crime careers from men. They were more likely to be high on drugs at the time of committing a crime, more likely to use amphetamines and more likely to escalate to using heroin. Indigenous women accounted for over a quarter of the sample – a huge over-representation relative to the female population of Australia. 55% of the women were drug dependent, and 27% alcohol dependent. Indigenous women had higher levels of alcohol dependency. The women were disproportionately single, young, impoverished, had low levels of education and had children. 87% of them experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse in childhood or adulthood.

The report identifies a link between drugs and crime for the female offenders. 58% of women were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of arrest (31% illegal drugs). A third of women attributed all their offending to drugs or alcohol and more than a fifth agreed that it had a very large effect. Drug use was particularly implicated in regular offending and sex work. The DUCO male study devised a methodology for identifying the percentage of offences attributable to drugs or alcohol. Application of this methodology to the female sample reveals 41% of offending is causally linked to drugs or alcohol.

The report’s policy recommendations perhaps demonstrate some of the limitations of research conducted for an “official” body. It recommends early intervention from helping services to minimize the abuse of children, and the implementation of drug treatment programmes specifically designed for women. However, the report does not question whether drug use should be decriminalized, or examine how removing drug use from the purview of the criminal justice system might impact positively upon women’s offending behaviour.