First national study on intimate partner violence among young people aims to turn the tide

An Australian-first study on young people’s use of violence towards intimate partners is seeking a new approach to interventions and support for victims and perpetrators, as experts warn of gaps undermining existing efforts. 

Early research shows 1 in 3 young Australians will experience intimate partner violence before they’re 18, with sexual violence, online abuse and controlling tactics most common. 

The new project announced today by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) and led by RMIT University aims to turn the tide with a more targeted approach.  

Project lead and Associate Director for Research, Advocacy and Policy at RMIT’s Centre for Innovative Justice, Elena Campbell, said gaps in our understanding of young people’s experience of the issue and a lack of services catering specifically to their needs were some of the reasons current approaches were not working. 

“Services to respond to young people’s use of harm at home are becoming increasingly available but abuse in intimate relationships is influenced by complex factors that our service system is not always equipped to address,” Campbell said. 

“Specialist family violence services designed primarily for adults are generally not appropriate or accessible, while more generalised education efforts can often lead to backlash, particularly if delivered on an ad hoc basis.” 

Campbell said families and schools were being left to pick up the pieces or turn to legal responses that could do more harm than good.  

“Universal and health services are seeing this issue on a frequent basis but are not always equipped or resourced to respond. We need services that meet young people where they’re at to provide effective intervention and support. This project is about gathering the evidence to set that system up,” she said. 

“The resulting framework is likely to involve workforce development so those dealing with this have understanding of the dynamics of sexual and intimate partner violence itself, as well as the fact that working with young people is completely different from working with adults,” Campbell said. 

“It’s generally seen as inappropriate to send teenage boys to men’s behaviour change program where they sit in a circle and talk for two hours, or have teenage girls seeking help from a family violence service.” 

“We need to meet young people on their level, not just have another person in an uncomfortable setting telling them that they’re the problem needing to be fixed.” 

The project is a collaboration with the Centre for Family Research and Evaluation and the Australian Institute of Family Studies and will be informed by the experiences of frontline service providers. 

Campbell said the blueprint they produce will outline responsibilities at an individual level, support service practitioner level and organisational level, plus recommend how these should work together so young people needing help don’t slip through the cracks. 

CEO at ANROWS, Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine, said ending violence is a shared responsibility that requires the involvement of all sectors.  

“This additional investment allows us to expand our research to new areas and address the complex and multifaceted nature of violence. By doing so, we can ensure a lasting, safer future for all women and children and prevent violence across generations.” 

The investment follows the $4 million funding announcement from the Australian Government in the May budget, delivered through the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, targets priority areas identified in Australia’s National Research Agenda 2023-2028.  

The projects will be delivered by June 2026. For details on each, visit:  https://www.anrows.org.au/project/promising-practices-in-violence-prevention-for-community-health-and-wellbeing-practitioners/