New Report Reveals Spike in Female Partner Homicide in Australia

Today the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) released the latest findings from the National Homicide Monitoring Program. This includes both the Homicide in Australia 2021-22 and Homicide in Australia 2022-23 reports following enhanced processes to ensure timely release of these important figures.

The Homicide in Australia 2022-23 report shows there were 232 homicide incidents recorded by Australian state and territory police between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023, which included 247 victims and 260 offenders.

AIC Deputy Director Dr Rick Brown said that the 2022-23 homicide incident rate in Australia of 0.87 per 100,000 was 4% higher than the previous year. However, it still represented a 52% reduction in homicide incidents since the statistical program began in 1989‒90.

"Sixty-nine per cent of homicide victims in 2022-23 were male, with a homicide victimisation rate of 7.65 per 100,000 for Indigenous males compared with 1.04 per 100,000 for non-Indigenous males. The homicide victimisation rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females was 3.07 per 100,000, compared with 0.45 per 100,000 for non-Indigenous females.

"In 2022‒23, 16% of homicide incidents were intimate partner homicides (IPH) and 89% of these were perpetrated against a female victim aged 18 years or over.

"The findings of the report confirm through state and territory police offence records and coronial records that female IPH increased by 28%, from 0.25 homicides per 100,000 in 2021-22, to 0.32 per 100,000 in 2022-23.

"The figures in this latest report provide an important baseline to measure progress towards achieving the national targets outlined in the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, to reduce female IPH by 25% per year over 5 years," Dr Brown said.

The AIC is also developing a statistical dashboard, as announced by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus in a joint media release in November 2023, with data to be updated on a quarterly basis. This will be released mid-year and will continue to provide more timely reporting on intimate partner homicide.

The latest Homicide in Australia reports can be found on the AIC website.

BACKGROUND

The National Homicide Monitoring Program is Australia's only national data collection on homicide incidents, victims and offenders. The program uses two key sources of data - offence records obtained from each Australian state and territory police service and state coronial records from the National Coronial Information System. We will continue to provide strategic policy and operational information on homicide in Australia to our partners in an effort to prevent and control violence.

AIC MEDIA

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