Age shock for DV offender statistics

ONE-THIRD of domestic violence offenders in Queensland are under the age of 30, according to shock new figures.

And up to 40 per cent of those reported by police and other agencies to the state’s eight high-risk family violence teams are under 25.

Revelations around the young age of so many of the state’s worst offenders, recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, come as AttorneyGeneral and Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Shannon Fentiman called for parents, carers, teachers, coaches and mentors to take note and think deeply about how to instil greater respect for women in young boys during May’s Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month.

“Achieving positive and lasting cultural change is key to ending DFV,” Ms Fentiman said. She said that while significant progress had been made, much more was clearly required, as she pointed to attitudes recorded in a national survey that showed while males aged 16 to 24 said they supported gender equality, they had concerning views on relationships and control, as 40 per cent said it was natural for a man to want to appear in control of his partner in front of his friends.

The fact that so many offenders were young men was “unacceptable, and clearly demonstrate the responsibility we all have to eliminate DFV among young people in our community”, she said.

“Unfortunately, attitudes are reflected in crime statistics, with recent data released by the ABS indicating 36 per cent of DFV offenders in Queensland are aged under 30.

“Our own high-risk teams, which address the most serious cases of domestic and family violence, are seeing over 22 per cent of perpetrators aged 25 and under.”