Ending family violence: annual report (2021)

Language relating to family violence is always evolving and varies between communities and government and non-government agencies.

It is important to use language that community members who may use the system are comfortable with, as this can help build trust. This section provides an overview of language used commonly in the family violence sector and throughout this report. The Glossary of terms provides a more detailed list of terminology.

While acknowledging that family violence is gendered, this report does not use gendered language to describe every form of family violence. This is to capture the full array of victim survivors who may experience family violence, including those who historically may have had difficulty being recognised.

The family violence system is diverse, and different language is used to refer to people who experience or use family violence. This report adopts, where possible, the terminology used by government and non-government agencies across the family violence sector. However, it uses the terms victim survivor and perpetrator, because these are the terms most widely used in the community.

• The term victim survivor refers to adults, children and young people who experience family violence. Under the Family Violence Protection Act, children are considered victim survivors if they experience family violence directed at them, or they are exposed to the effects of family violence. This includes being present at or witnessing a family violence incident.
• The term perpetrator refers to an adult who uses violence or threatening, coercive or controlling behaviour against family members (as defined in the Family Violence Protection Act) in current or past family, domestic or intimate relationships.

Family Violence Protection Act 2008

Variations of language this report uses to describe family violence include the following:

• Aboriginal people and communities may prefer to use the term ‘people who use violence’. In this report, the term Aboriginal is used to refer to both Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• This report uses the term ‘adolescent or young person who uses violence’ rather than ‘perpetrator’ for children aged 10–17. Young people who use family violence need distinct responses, tailored to their age, safety and developmental needs. Young people who use family violence are often also victim survivors.

Other terms for different functions or points in time within the family violence system include the following:

• Police use the terms ‘affected family member’ or ‘victim’ to refer to the person deemed to be most harmed and affected by events occurring during a family violence incident. Police make an assessment of risk, considering past family violence and any recorded criminal history to identify who is being harmed and affected the most during an incident.
• Police use the term ‘respondent’ to describe the main person who is harming others. The term ‘respondent’ is also used in family violence intervention order applications to describe the person against whom an order is sought. The term ‘offender’ describes a person who has been found guilty of an offence.