Study finds mental health and poor father-son relationships major risk factors for men’s violence against women

Mental ill health and poor father-son relationships have been revealed as key factors that could contribute to men’s violence against women.

A longitudinal study conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) surveyed men and boys in 2013/14 and again in 2022 for critical insights into factors influencing the use of violence.

The research has produced the first national estimate of male intimate partner violence perpetration, with the 2022 study finding more than one-in-three Australian men aged 18 to 65 have used intimate partner violence in their lifetime.

This is up from one-in-four men who reported ever having used intimate partner violence among the same cohort surveyed in 2014.

The latest study also found an estimated 120,000 men nationally were starting to use violence for the first time each year.

Emotional-type abuse was the most common form of intimate partner violence, with 32 per cent of men in 2022 reporting they had ever made an intimate partner feel “frightened or anxious”.

Meanwhile, nine per cent reported ever “hitting, slapping, kicking or otherwise physically hurting” an intimate partner when they were angry.

Mental health and quality relationships with their fathers were found to have an impact on men’s use of violence. Men with moderate or severe depressive symptoms were 62 per cent more likely to use intimate partner violence.

The correlation between depression and violence did not mean one caused the other but it was important to be aware of the impact of mental health, Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin said.

“This sort of data gives us really good evidence on how to target interventions and investment,” she told AAP.

“It tells us that we need to be aware of the prevalence and the number of men using violence, and recognise that if someone is talking to a GP about their mental health for example, it’s worth asking those extra questions about their use of violence.”

Men who felt strongly that they had a quality relationship with a father or father figure during childhood, marked with affection, were 48 per cent less likely to report ever having used intimate partner violence.

Ms Cronin said paternal relationships where boys could talk about their feelings with their fathers appeared to be a protective factor against using violence later in life.

The longitudinal data provided a set of risk factors to help develop effective policies and programs for young men, report co-author Sean Martin said.

“Understanding the risk factors to these behaviours is critical,” he said.

Newly appointed Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the research was concerning but not surprising.

“To end domestic and family violence we need to invest in the frontline services that help people and keep them safe, but we also need to stop the behaviours that lead to it,” she said.

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