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Violence against women and children affects everybody. It impacts on the health, wellbeing and safety of a significant proportion of Australians throughout all states and territories and places an enormous burden on the nation’s economy across family and community services, health and hospitals, income-support and criminal justice systems.

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ANROWS hosts events as part of its knowledge transfer and exchange work, including public lectures, workshops and research launches. Details of upcoming ANROWS activities and news are available from the list on the right.

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ANROWS was established by the Commonwealth and all state and territory governments of Australia to produce, disseminate and assist in applying evidence for policy and practice addressing violence against women and children.

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To support the take-up of evidence, ANROWS offers a range of resources developed from research to support practitioners and policy-makers in delivering evidence-based interventions.


Domestic violence and women’s economic security: Building Australia’s capacity for prevention and redress
Posted in News

Domestic violence and women’s economic security: Building Australia’s capacity for prevention and redress

Thursday, 27th October 2016


ANROWS has released a new Horizons report and accompanying Compass paper investigating women’s economic security in the context of domestic violence.

Domestic violence exacerbates economic inequality, as both economic abuse, and other tactics of violence, generate costs for women and contribute to financial instability and stress. Australia’s National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 recognises the importance of economic wellbeing to the capacity of women and children to rebuild their lives following violence. Consistent with this recognition, and with Australia’s National Research Agenda to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, this research was designed to support initiatives to improve women’s economic circumstances following violence. In particular, the research was designed to explore:

• the impact of violence on women’s economic status;
• the efficacy and limitations of existing approaches, policies and programs relating to women’s economic security; and
• ways to more effectively build women’s economic security following violence.

The research builds on the literature review contained in the ANROWS Landscapes paper Building effective policies and services to promote women’s economic security following domestic violence: State of knowledge paper. That paper discussed how economic abuse is a frequent tactic of violence, however, service systems are not well equipped to prevent, identify and respond to financial abuse or the other economic harms associated with violence. Financial issues, including the prospect of leaving property or assets behind, are a major factor in women’s decisions about leaving or staying in violent relationships. The economic difficulties arising from violence, including loss of wealth upon separation, reverberate through women’s lives and increase hardship in the long-term.

These works provide new statistical analysis and qualitative evidence which shows that domestic violence contributes to alarming levels of financial stress, and services and systems are ill equipped to respond. Statistical analysis shows how violence is associated with economic stressors which affect women for a number of years. Interviews with stakeholders demonstrate widespread perceptions that although Australia has some highly effective initiatives in place, these operate on too small a scale to fully address the extent or range of women’s needs. Individual victims of violence, and the services that support them, unfairly bear the economic burden of violence.

For more information please see links below.

ANROWS Compass 06-2016 : Domestic violence and women’s economic security (key findings and future directions)

ANROWS Horizons 05-2016 : Domestic violence and women’s economic security (final report)

 



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