Are men and women equally affected by family violence? Are immigrants more likely to perpetrate family violence? Let’s talk about it.
On 9 January 2025, we shared a video on TikTok discussing the very serious issue of family violence in Australia and how this can disproportionately affect not just women and children, but also temporary migrants in Australia who often stay in relationships (e.g. with their sponsor or family head) due to fear that they will be forced to leave Australia upon the breakdown of their relationship.
A number of comments were left on our video, many of which required moderation due to their anti-immigrant sentiment, as well as others which are worth discussing. In particular, some commenters noted that they have witnessed more men experiencing family violence than women, and otherwise raised the question of who is committing this family violence against migrants in Australia, even explicitly asserting that immigrants have brought family violence to Australia:
So let’s talk about it:
Are men and women equally affected by family violence?
Are immigrants more likely to perpetrate family violence?
Are men and women equally affected by family violence?
It is important to emphasise that both men and women can be both victims and perpetrators of family violence, and that preventing violence against men should be regarded as equally important to preventing violence against women.
While men may be more likely to be victims of physical violence, statistics show that violence against men is most likely to be suffered at the hands of a male perpetrator - 26% of men have reportedly experienced physical violence by a male stranger, compared to 2.3% of men who have experienced physical violence by a female stranger. Additionally, women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence, which is the most commonly experienced form of family violence used against women in Australia, taking place across all cultures and faith groups. Statistics show that women are nearly 3 times more likely to experience intimate partner violence than men, with approximately 17% of women experiencing partner violence since the age of 16, and 6.1% of men experiencing partner violence since the age of 15.
Ultimately, the data shows that most family violence is perpetrated by men against women, and research undertaken by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that the following groups of people are most impacted by family violence in Australia:
younger women
children
older people
people with disability
people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (including people with temporary residency status)
LGBTIQA+ people
people in rural and remote communities
people with mental health issues and/or substance misuse problems
people from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge that men can also be victims of family violence, and that they are equally deserving of protection and support as women. Men can also experience violence and abuse in their relationships, and they often do not report this family violence because they may feel embarrassed, or be afraid of not being believed or being ridiculed if they report it.
Whether you are a man, women or a person with a different gender identity who has experienced family violence, you deserve a future that is free from fear and coercive control, and you deserve help and support with rebuilding your life. As immigration lawyers, we have supported and represented both men and women in relation to their family violence claims and their pursuit of a pathway to permanent residence, independent of their abuser. While it is our professional experience that the majority of family violence victims in the migrant community are women who have experienced abuse perpetrated by men, we have observed that men are often subject to greater scrutiny when it comes to the consideration of their family violence claims, including by decision makers at the Department of Home Affairs.
For instance, the Department of Home Affairs sometimes arranges for victims of family violence to be interviewed by an independent expert when assessing their family violence claims. We have received feedback about from men who feel like they were made to answer harsh questions from an independent expert with an extremely critical demeanour, and may have had to sit through a much more difficult interview than other victims of family violence. This can often cause further distress to victims of family violence, and may make it more difficult for men to explain and prove their experience of family violence, which is ultimately not conducive to ending family violence in Australia.
Are immigrants more likely to perpetrate family violence?
It is important to acknowledge that family violence occurs across Australia and impacts people from various communities and cultures. In particular, family violence can be both perpetrated and experienced by an Australian citizen, permanent resident or non-citizen of Australia.
What we do know from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s findings is that people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds may experience increased vulnerability may experience increased exposure to risk factors or heightened barriers to seeking help when they experience family violence, often due to their temporary or dependent visa status, language barriers and/or a lack of community support/ network. People from CALD backgrounds may also hail from different cultures which differ in their attitudes towards gender roles, relationships and family dynamics, which can impact the way family violence is perceived, understood and tolerated. For instance, cultural stigma, community pressures and cultural or faith-based beliefs discouraging separation or divorce may affect someone’s experience of family violence, and result in them being more fearful and hesitant to seek help. In certain cultures, there may be a community belief that family issues (including domestic violence issues) should be dealt within the family unit, and some forms of violence (e.g. dowry abuse and female genital mutilation) may be more common in certain religious and community contexts. There may also be reluctance to seek support due to a fear of racist assumptions about their culture, religion or ethnic background, or fear about jeopardising their ability to stay in Australia (e.g. where their visa status is dependent on someone who may be abusing them).
Dr Patricia Easteal, a criminologist with the Faculty of Law at the Australian National University published a book titled Shattered Dreams, outlining studies which show that two (2) groups of migrant women are particularly vulnerable to family violence:
those who have been sponsored by non-Asian men who have very little idea of what their rights are, and whose violent husbands exploit their lack of knowledge through threats and false information designed to control their wives and stop them from leaving; and
brides in arranged marriages who have been brought to Australia to wed someone from their culture and are prone to isolation.
In particular, Dr Easteal notes that two-thirds of Legal Aid cases and three-quarters of refugee cases involved physical abuse, including rape; some women did not define the physical abuse as rape, while others minimised the impact. Other forms of family violence include economic abuse, such as where husbands had complete control over finances, and Dr Easteal’s studies show that aspects of ethnicity or the migration experience can contribute to abuse in the home, such as wife abuse in the country of origin, isolation and lack of support, difficulty in speaking English, lack of knowledge of services, family privacy and shame for a woman who does not remain married.
So are immigrants, particularly male immigrants more likely to commit family violence as compared to e.g. Anglo-Australian men? White Ribbon Australia notes that when violence against women occurs in immigrant and refugee communities, and when immigrant men are the perpetrators of violence, it seems that ‘culture’ becomes the prime lens through which accounts and explanations are based, and in these instances, attitudes and behaviours are deemed ‘cultural’. In contrast, when white people engage in certain practices the media does not attribute their behaviour to a ‘white/western culture’, and instead constructs other, noncultural explanations. This construction of moral difference can also be found when immigrant men are found to be perpetrators of violence and crime. White Ribbon Australia further reports that “moral panics” throughout Australian history, including anti-immigration discourse, have linked crime and the fear of crime with ethnic minority men and/or other marginalised groups, fuelling enhanced negative media and public attention on them. For instance, post-war European migrant men were at the centre of such representations from the 1950s to 1980s, often perceived to be involved in ‘ethnic’ organised crime, and from the 1970s on, Chinese, Vietnamese, Lebanese and Turkish men, represented as drug traffickers and gang leaders. More recently, Arabic and Muslim men have become an increasingly criminalised group in media and popular discourse, constructed as having an inferior and dysfunctional culture, which conveniently accounts for their criminality as well as generating fear in the wider community. Such representations feed into images of Arabic and Muslim women as subject to a naturally misogynistic and oppressive Islam, endorsed by Muslim men, which is a discourse that enables the representation of migrant men as more violent and patriarchal, being understood as a particularly dangerous form of ‘Muslim misogyny’ or women-hating, from which Australian men and women must be protected.
Studies cited by White Ribbon Australia state that gender subordination is not limited immigrant communities and “there is simply no evidence to suggest that ethnically diverse families are more violent”. Rather, studies show that when gendered violence does occur in the immigration community, “it is framed as a battle between ‘tradition’ and ‘modernity’ where it is assumed that non-white cultures are more tolerant of men’s violence against women than white cultures”. There is also very little activity and research that specifically addresses the intersections of gender, class and race, such that there is presently no real basis for the assertion that immigrants are more likely to commit or perpetrate family violence.
While our immigration lawyers have assisted persons who have experienced family violence perpetrated against them by someone from a similar background or culture as them, e.g. a spouse or partner of the same ethnicity/ religion or another immigrant, we have likewise come across many cases where a temporary visa holder has experienced family violence/ domestic abuse meted from an Anglo-Australian citizen spouse or partner. In particular, we have experienced Australian sponsors using their foreign spouse or partner’s visa status in Australia to control them, threatening to “cancel” their visa or withdraw sponsorship of their visa application if they do not accede to their sponsor’s demands. Persons who are subject to such “visa abuse” often feel that they are unable to leave an abusive relationship due to fear of being removed from Australia or being separated from their children in Australia. It is therefore important to increase awareness about the family violence provisions which exist within Australia’s migration laws and regulations, which can serve as a powerful tool to not only encourage them to seek help and support with their situation, but also safeguard migrants’ rights in Australia and help them attain independence from their abuser.
I am a victim of family violence in Australia - where can I find support?
Protection Orders
If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, you can apply for a protection order. Protection orders are nationally recognised and you can ask the police or your local court about getting a protection order to protect you and your family.
Each state and territory has specific laws for the making of protection orders. Depending on which state or territory you are in, a protection order might be called:
an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order;
a Domestic Violence Order;
a Family Violence Intervention Order;
a Family Violence Order;
a Family Violence Restraining Order; or
an Intervention Order.
Counselling services
Counselling services and helplines can help you identify what you can do and find the right services or support for you. You don’t have to give your name or any other identifying information. You can choose to remain anonymous, or use a fake name, and how much information you give is up to you.
For confidential counselling, information and support, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. You can also visit the 1800RESPECT website.
For confidential counselling and crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 44. You can also visit the Lifeline website.
For free counselling services for young people aged 5 to 25, call Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. You can also visit the Kids Helpline website.
For advice about relationship or separation issues, you can call the Family Relationship Advice Line on 1800 050 321. You can also visit the Family Relationship Advice Line website.
For free phone counselling, information and referral service to help men to stop using violence, call the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491. You can also visit the No to Violence website.
For specialist help for men affected by domestic and family violence, call MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978. You can also visit the MensLine Australia website.
Financial help
The Australian Red Cross helps people on temporary visas, or with uncertain visa status, living in Australia who are experiencing domestic and family violence and financial hardship through their Family and Domestic Violence Financial Assistance program.
Uniting Care helps Australian citizens, permanent residents or holders of a protected special category visa living in Australia to leave violent relationships through their Escaping Violence Payment program. You can call Uniting Care on 1800 387 387.
Legal support
The migration regulations and laws in Australia are everchanging and complex, particularly when it comes to issues of family violence. Noting the complex and sensitive nature of family violence claims, and the need to account for this in detail, we urge all migrants in Australia to seek legal advice about their options if they have experienced family violence, as this may make all the difference when it comes to safeguarding your independent pathway to permanent residency in Australia.
Our experienced and compassionate immigration lawyers at Inclusive Migration have extensive experience in advocating for temporary visa holders who have experienced family violence in Australia, and can assist you with pursuing your own pathway to permanent residency.
If you are in need of assistance, please do not hesitate to email us at info@inclusivemigration.com.au, submit an enquiry through the contact form on our website or send us a message via WhatsApp at +61 490 704 775 for a confidential discussion of your case. We are here to help you, and can refer you to other third party support services in the state or territory where you reside where needed.
