Family and domestic violence homicide

Some family and domestic violence incidents are fatal. The unlawful killing of an intimate partner or family member is considered domestic homicide. Data on domestic homicides is available from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) National Homicide Monitoring Program, which is based on information on homicides from police records and coronial records.

Examining domestic homicide incidents over time can help to identify patterns in homicide and evaluate the possible impact of changes in policy and programs. The visualisation below shows the number and rate of domestic homicide incidents and intimate partner homicides over time. Between 1989–90 and 2019–20, intimate partner homicides made up between 45–70% of domestic homicides each year, with the number and rate consistently higher for females than males. Over this period, the rate of intimate partner homicide and domestic homicide decreased, in general, for women and men, with some fluctuations year on year.

Domestic homicide victims, by sex, 1989–90 to 2019–20

Examining the relationships between victims and offenders in domestic homicides can help to identify people at higher risk. The visualisation below shows the proportion and number of domestic homicides by victim relationship with the offender. In 2019–20, there were four times as many female deaths caused by an intimate partner, as there were male deaths caused by an intimate partner.

Domestic homicide victims, by relationship with offender and sex, 2019–20