The 2015-2017 report from the New South Wales Domestic Violence Death Review Team states that in 2013, nearly 20 per cent of women who suicided were exposed to family and domestic violence (FDV) in childhood. The report also states that nearly half of all who suicided had experienced FDV during their lifetime as either perpetrator or victim, with women far more likely than men to be victims (69 per cent compared with 5 per cent), and men far more likely than women to be perpetrators (87 per cent compared with 6 per cent). For more than one in ten women who suicided, the data showed that domestic violence, relationship conflict or relationship breakdown were a proximal feature of the suicide. The report includes recommendations for the NSW government, including becoming a member of Our Watch, a national campaign aimed at changing the cultural attitudes and behaviours that underpin violence against women and children, and reconceptualising the data captured around domestic violence events to enable police to view incidents within the context of a relationship history that can highlight patterns of behaviour by both parties. Read the report.
