An estimated 2.7 million Australians aged 18 years and over (14 percent or one in seven) have experienced childhood abuse, according to information from the 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey (PSS) released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Childhood abuse in the PSS includes physical and/or sexual abuse perpetrated by an adult before the age of 15.
Will Milne, ABS head of crime and justice statistics, said: "We found that approximately 18 per cent of women and 11 per cent of men have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse during their childhood. This is around 1.7 million women and 1 million men."
Women were more likely to have experienced sexual abuse (11 per cent) than physical abuse (10 per cent) during their childhood, whereas men were more likely to have experienced physical abuse (8.3 per cent) than sexual abuse (3.6 per cent).
Most people who experienced childhood abuse knew the perpetrator. The survey found that 1.9 million people (10 per cent) experienced childhood abuse by an adult family member, while nearly 380,000 (2 per cent) experienced abuse by an adult within an institutional setting.
People who experienced childhood abuse were more than three times as likely to experience partner violence as an adult.
"About 28 per cent of people who experienced abuse before the age of 15 went on to experience physical or sexual violence by a partner later in life. This is compared with 8.4 per cent of people who didn't experience abuse during childhood but experienced partner violence as an adult," Mr Milne said.
The PSS also asked people whether they witnessed parental physical violence before the age of 15.
The survey results showed that 13 per cent of adults (2.6 million) witnessed violence towards a parent by a partner during childhood.
"We found 16 per cent of women and 11 per cent of men witnessed violence towards their mother or father by a partner before the age of 15. This represents an estimated 1.6 million women and 1 million men," Mr Milne said.
The survey also found that people who witnessed parental violence during childhood were more than twice as likely to experience partner violence as an adult (25 per cent) compared with those who did not witness parental violence during childhood (9.3 per cent).
"We would like to acknowledge the experiences of everyone affected by childhood abuse in Australia, and thank those who took part in this survey. By sharing their experiences they have helped inform our understanding of childhood abuse in Australia," Mr Milne said.
If you or anyone you know is in need or crisis, please call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline (13 11 14).
Grab 1
We found from the Personal Safety Survey that one in six women and one in nine men experienced physical or sexual abuse from an adult during their childhood. This is about 1.7 million women and 1 million men.
Grab 2
We found that those who experienced childhood abuse, compared to those that didn't, were over three times more likely to go on and experience violence by a partner.
Grab 3
Our survey showed that nearly one in six women and one in nine men have witnessed parental violence during their childhood. That's about 1.6 million women and 1 million men.
