State of knowledge on the co-occurrence, intersection and differences between forms of, and responses to, violence against women and their children

Nevertheless, research effort and service responses have typically been fragmented and sector-specific, most likely due to differences in the nature of the forms of violence, the contexts in which they occur and the historical development of responses to each issue.

This project will explore the similarities and differences between these different forms of violence against women.

In particular, it will include attention to re-victimisation (e.g. child victims of domestic and family violence who subsequently experience adult sexual assault or victims of both domestic violence and sexual assault by different perpetrators) and co-occurrence (e.g. men who perpetrate both child abuse and domestic violence or domestic violence and stranger sexual assault, or women who experience sexual assault as part of domestic and family violence). It would also include exploring the literature on combined service responses to both sexual assault and domestic violence.

This project will provide information on the similarities and differences between domestic and family violence to:

• assist in sharing knowledge between the two sectors; and
• inform future research and service delivery for where these two issues overlap.