Mapping the Rise of Family Violence in Victoria Post-COVID

Sanjeev Kathir – S4078366

October 2025

Why It Matters

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Victorians were confined to their homes.
For some, home was not a safe place.”
— Victorian Government (2021)

Family violence remains one of Victoria’s most pressing social challenges.
Lockdowns between March 2020 and October 2021 intensified multiple risk factors including:

  • Social isolation and breakdown of informal support networks
  • Financial stress, unemployment, and housing insecurity
  • Reduced access to justice, police, and family support services

These conditions led to a measurable surge in incidents across multiple demographics and regions.
This story visualises how incident patterns evolved across Victoria between 2020 and 2025,
highlighting the continuing need for prevention, protection, and systemic reform.

The Data Story

Primary Source:
Crime Statistics Agency (CSA), Victoria.
Family Incidents Visualisation Data Tables, Year Ending June 2025.
Retrieved October 2025 from https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au

About the dataset

  • Annual data from 2020–2025
  • Variables: year, LGA, gender of affected family member, relationship type, outcome, police action
  • Aggregated by Local Government Area (LGA) for state-level comparison
## [1] "2025"                                   
## [2] "June"                                   
## [3] "Criminal Incident Flag and Charges Laid"
## [4] "Criminal incident - Unsolved"           
## [5] "7707"                                   
## [6] "108.597362356"
Preview of Family Violence Dataset (CSA, 2025)
2025 June Criminal Incident Flag and Charges Laid Criminal incident - Unsolved 7707 108.597362356
2025 June Criminal Incident Flag and Charges Laid No criminal incident 49880 702.8463
2025 June Family Violence Safety Notice (FVSN) Issued 11715 165.0731
2025 June Family Violence Safety Notice (FVSN) Not issued 94712 1334.5625
2025 June IVO and/or FVSN IVO applied for and/or FVSN issued 26451 372.7143
2025 June IVO and/or FVSN Neither IVO applied for nor FVSN issued 79976 1126.9213
2025 June Intervention Order Taken (IVO) Applied for 14846 209.1912

Long-Term Trend in Family Violence (2020–2025)

Over the past ten years, Victoria has seen a steady increase in family violence events, which can be attributed to both improved reporting procedures and an increase in prevalence.
more financing for support services after the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence, broader definitions of family violence, and more public awareness all contributed to the growth, which occurred gradually between 2020 and 2025.

Insights

2016 → Policy inflection: Post-Royal Commission reforms boosted reporting and awareness.
2020–2021 → Crisis spike: Pandemic pressures drove record incident levels.
Post-2022 → Plateau: Gradual normalisation but sustained higher baseline, signalling long-term vulnerability.

Interpretation

Overall trend: consistent long-term increase (awareness + reporting).
2020–2021 spike: lockdown-related pressures and isolation effects.
2022–2025: relative stabilisation due to reopening and targeted reforms.

Regional Hotspots Across Victoria (2025)

The prevalence of family violence varies throughout Victoria.
Population density, socioeconomic variables, and service accessibility all have an impact on the noticeably higher incidence rates in some Local Government Areas (LGAs).
For demonstration purposes, the interactive map below visualises synthetic hotspot data (using simulated coordinates to indicate approximate locations).

Gender and Relationship Dynamics (2020 – 2025)

One of the most reliable variables affecting the trends in family violence is still gender.
The majority of abusers are male partners or ex-partners, but the majority of impacted family members are female, according to the CSA data.
These proportions are summarised in the stacked bar chart below (synthetic sample for demonstration).

Police Response Outcomes (2025)

The way that family violence situations are handled once they are reported is greatly influenced by the activities of the police.
In an effort to provide victims with quicker on-scene protection during the COVID-19 pandemic, Victoria Police expanded the use of Family Violence Safety Notices (FVSN) and Intervention Orders (IVO).
The intricacy of proving offences and the requirement for coordinated justice-service collaboration are reflected in the fact that the percentage of cases that move to charges laid is still lower than that of preventative or administrative replies.

Annual Growth in Reported Incidents (2020–2025)

It is easier to see the momentum behind the societal issue when one considers how rapidly reported domestic violence events vary annually.
Increased reporting and stressors caused annual growth to spike during the COVID-19 lockdown years (2020–2021).
Even while growth has slowed since 2022, the rate is still higher than it was before the pandemic, indicating that the underlying causes of vulnerability are still there.

Types of Family Violence Reports (2025)

Victoria reports a variety of family violence occurrences, including children present, criminal offences, and intervention or safety notices.
The proportion of total events by category in 2025 is displayed below, highlighting the areas with the highest concentration of system hazards and burden.

Analysing the Information: Gender and Power Dynamics

Frameworks for gender-based and feminist violence contend that family violence reflects unequal power structures that normalise dominance and control.
The continued victimisation of women in all age groups is consistent with studies that demonstrate:

Violence is not an isolated confrontation; rather, it is a tool of coercive control.
Victim-blaming can be reinforced by media narratives and social norms.
In addition to legal measures, cultural change is necessary for effective prevention.

This theoretical framework explains why family violence is still a structural issue that has to be addressed via activism, education, and reform.

A Tale Beyond the Data

Every data point in this report is a voice, whether the person had the guts to ask for assistance or was unable to do so.
We go beyond merely tallying incidences to understanding causes by acknowledging the human face behind the data.

Victoria’s family violence narrative is one of hope and accountability as much as pain.
When awareness turns into empathy and empathy becomes action, change starts.

Together, we can transform data into dialogue, policy, and meaningful change for a safer Victoria.

“Towards a safer, more compassionate Victoria.”
(Walk Against Family Violence – Melbourne, 2024)

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2025). Recorded crime: Victims, Australia, 2025.
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/recorded-crime-victims-australia

Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) Victoria. (2025). Family incidents visualisation data tables: Year ending June 2025.
https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au

Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH). (2023). Ending family violence: Annual report 2022–23.
https://www.vic.gov.au/ending-family-violence

Our Watch. (2024). Tracking progress in the prevention of violence against women.
https://www.ourwatch.org.au

Victorian Government. (2021). COVID-19 and family violence.
https://www.vic.gov.au/family-violence-coronavirus

Prepared by Sanjeev Kathir (S4078366) — RMIT University
Data Visualisation – Assignment 3 (2025)