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THE FINANCIAL COST OF DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE BY ROSA CAMPBELL,
CLEARINGHOUSE RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Domestic and family violence can have a grave financial impact on victims and society generally. The two
Australian reports most often cited in regards to these financial costs are: The cost of domestic violence to the
Australian economy: parts 1 & 2, by Access Economics (2004), and The cost of violence against wo<strong>men</strong> and their
children, by the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Wo<strong>men</strong> and their Children (2009). Key statistics
from these and other reports are cited below.
Cost to Australia
Domestic and family violence imposes
a huge financial cost on the Australian
economy:
à àAccess Economics (2004, p. vii)
estimated that domestic violence
cost Australia $8.1 billion in 2002-
03.
à àThe National Council to Reduce
Violence Against Wo<strong>men</strong> and their
Children (2009, p. 66) has more
recently projected that domestic
violence will cost Australia $9.9
billion in the year 2021-22, if
appropriate action is not taken.
Cost to victims
Victims themselves bear a large
proportion of the costs of abuse:
à àAccess Economics (2004, p. vii)
concluded that victims bear the
largest cost burden of domestic
violence, estimated at $4.05
billion out of a total $8.1 billion in
2002-03.
à àThe National Council to Reduce
Violence Against Wo<strong>men</strong> and their
Children (2009, p. 8) found that
victims bear over half the costs of
domestic violence. It projected
the costs to victims to rise to $8.1
billion in 2021-22.
ààThe costs to victims include
homelessness (Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare 2007), loss
of income due to unemploy<strong>men</strong>t
(Braaf & Barrett Meyering 2011;
Moe & Bell 2004) and healthrelated
expenses (Fishman et al.
2010; VicHealth 2004).
Cost to Australian
business
Domestic and family violence also
creates costs for Australian business:
à àAccess Economics (2004, p.
43) estimated that in 2002-03,
domestic violence cost Australian
businesses $175.2 million.
à àThe National Council to Reduce
Violence Against Wo<strong>men</strong> and their
Children (2009, p. 8) estimated
that if appropriate action is not
taken, domestic violence will cost
Australian employers $456 million
in 2021-22.
REFERENCES
Access Economics 2004, The cost of
domestic violence to the Australian
economy: part I, Office of the Status of
Wo<strong>men</strong>, Canberra
Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare 2007, Homeless people in
SAAP: SAAP National Data Collection
annual report 2005-06 Australia, cat.
no. HOU 156, AIHW, Canberra
Braaf R & Barrett Meyering I 2011,
Seeking security: promoting wo<strong>men</strong>’s
economic wellbeing following
domestic violence, Australian
Domestic and Family Violence
Clearinghouse, Sydney
Cadilhac DA, Magnus A, Cumming
T, Sheppard L, Pearce D & Carter
R 2009, The health and economic
benefits of reducing disease risk
factors, VicHealth, Melbourne.
Fishman PA, Bonomi AE, Anderson
ML, Reid RJ & Rivara FP 2010,
‘Changes in health care costs over
Costs and benefits of
prevention
The prevention of domestic and family
violence is of enormous social and
economic benefit to all Australians:
à àThe National Council to Reduce
Violence Against Wo<strong>men</strong> and their
Children (2009, p. 4) concluded
that reducing all forms of violence
against wo<strong>men</strong> by 10% by 2021-
22 could amount to $1.6 billion in
savings.
ààAccording to VicHealth, eliminating
intimate partner violence would
save the health sector $207 million
dollars per year and save $1.8
billion in production and leisure
costs annually (Cadilhac et al.
2009, p. 64).
time following the cessation of
intimate partner violence’, Journal
of General Internal Medicine, vol.
25, n. 9, pp. 920-925
Moe A & Bell M 2004, ‘Abject
economics: the effects of battering
and violence on wo<strong>men</strong>’s work and
employability’, Violence Against
Wo<strong>men</strong>, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 29-55
National Council to Reduce
Violence Against Wo<strong>men</strong> and
their Children 2009, The cost of
violence against wo<strong>men</strong> and their
children, Depart<strong>men</strong>t of Families,
Housing, Community Services and
Indigenous Affairs, Canberra
Victorian Health Promotion
Foundation 2004, The health costs
of violence: measuring the burden
of disease caused by intimate
partner violence: a summary of
findings, VicHealth, Melbourne.
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www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au