Research brief (Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre)

This research brief explores the definition and prevalence of adolescent family violence in Australia, in advance of a research project on this topic.

Adolescent family violence is a complex and serious issue that is
increasingly recognised in Australia (Domestic Violence
Resource Centre Victoria, 2010). The term refers to any act of
family violence committed by an adolescent who is generally 12
to 18 years of age (Department of Human Services, 2014). Such
violence includes physical, emotional, sexual, social, spiritual,
cultural, psychological and economic abuses that occur within
families, intimate relationships, extended families, kinship
networks and communities (Department of Human Services,
2013). These acts are often committed in an attempt to gain and
maintain power and control, with the perpetrators coercing,
threatening, intimidating, destroying property and possessions,
and/or physically assaulting their parents (Howard, 2015).
Actions are often misunderstood or minimised because of the
child’s age; parents may struggle to understand how their child can be violent to them, meaning that there is a shame
associated with this type of crime. (From the brief). Record #7820