Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women (PVAW)

What Is Violence Against Women?

Violence against women is a pervasive and serious human rights abuse that causes significant harm to individuals, families, communities and society.

  • In Australia, 1 in 3 Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15.1
  • 1 in 5 Australian women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.2
  • Intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and ill-health for Australian women aged 18 – 44.3
  • Nearly one woman a week is murdered by a current or former partner.4

These rates are much higher for women who face multiple and compounding forms of inequality.

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Are you looking for specific resources? Have a look at our Resource Library page.

What Drives Violence Against Women?

There is now a large body of evidence that shows that gender inequality is a necesarry context for violence against women to occur.

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Our Watch defines gender inequality as:

The unequal distribution of power, resources, opportunity, and value afforded to men and women in a society due to prevailing gendered norms and structures.

Evidence shows that certain forms of gender inequality consistently predict higher rates of violence against women: