The rate of domestic violence will depend on how it is defined and how it is measured. We know that not all incidents of domestic violence are reported to the police, consequently, statistics based on police figures will grossly underestimate the true extent of domestic violence in the community. Estimates of the extent of domestic violence depend on how a definition is formulated. Some of these victims will also be the victim of repeated assaults - on average, victims are likely to be physically assaulted twice every year.
Women are by far the most common victims of domestic violence.
Although some men are the victims of domestic violence, this is much less common and all the indications are that 9 out of every 10 domestic violence victims is a female. The consequences of domestic violence are serious, particularly for women. Generally, domestic violence results in a greater degree of actual injury than violence that is not domestic violence. Domestic homicides accounted for one in four homicides between 1992 and 1994. Half of the women homicide victims in Western Australia in 1994 were killed by their partner or ex-partner.