According to the ABS (2018), in 2015, almost one in five people (18.3%) had a disability in Australia, with 17% of Victorians living with disability. It was also reported 5.7% of all Australians had a profound or severe disability (ABS, 2018). Within the SMR, the percentage of people living with a severe or profound disability varies across its municipalities.
Across most LGAs, females with a disability exceed the number of males with a disability.
Latest Figures
2016 Personal Safety Survey Findings
People with a disability or a long-term health condition have been found to be more likely to experience physical violence than people without a disability or long-term health condition. Key findings from the 2016 Personal Safety Survey include:
- “Of people with disability or a long-term health condition, the highest rates of violence were among people with psychological disability (14.8% or 132,500 people), and intellectual disability (14.3% or 67,900 people) with around one in seven people reporting violence.
- Of people with physical disability, one in twenty (5.0% or 196,300 people) reported having experienced violence during the same time period.
- Women with disability or a long-term health condition were more likely to have experienced violence in the preceding 12 months than women without disability or a long-term health condition (5.9% or 172,800) women with disability or long-term health condition and 4.3% or 274,400 of women without disability or a long-term health condition.
- Men with disability or a long-term health condition were equally likely to experience violence in the last 12 months as men without disability or a long-term health condition (5.6% or 158,100 compared to 6.2% or 383,200).
- Experiences of violence for people with disability or a long-term health condition were more common in the younger age groups.”
Research into the causal factors and experiences of violence against people with a disability is lacking. Women with Disabilities Victoria (2017) have stated that violence against women with a disability is not well understood and often ignored or under-reported.