Australia is confronting high levels of gendered violence including escalating coercive control and youth assaults, prompting calls for increased evidence-led reforms.
As part of National Domestic Violence Remembrance Day, candlelight vigils will be held across Australia on Wednesday for people who have lost their lives to violence, as well as survivors.
The stain of domestic violence is felt across every community, NSW Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said.
"Too many lives have been lost, and too many families have been broken, because of domestic and family violence," she said.
A leading research body for women's safety has appointed a new leadership team to develop strategies to end violence against women and children.
The executive team at Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) includes experts in family violence research, public policy and gender equity.
Kristin Diemer, an expert in family violence data, coercive control and technology-facilitated abuse, joins the team as director of research with more than 30 years of expertise.
She is focused on translating evidence into programs and policies that protect women and children.
"Australia is one of the global leaders in research on gendered violence but it isn't used as effectively as it could be," Dr Diemer told AAP.
"My focus is on growing the evidence base, partnering across sectors, and ensuring that every piece of knowledge we generate is directly applied to improving safety for women and children."
More research was needed on the impacts of family violence on children and young people as well as support services, Dr Diemer said.
"While we've been cognisant that violence is harmful to children, we haven't measured the long-term impact of living in an abusive family," she said.
"There are some indicators that perpetrators are more likely to have grown up in a family with violence, however the reverse is not true.
"If you look at the children who have experienced violence it's not the majority who go on to perpetrate."
So far in 2025, 24 women and seven children have died as a result of violence according to the Australian Femicide Watch website.
In 2024, 103 women and 17 children died violently, yet there's no government-run national register, which advocates say is needed to track the issue.
ANROWS research shows that while most Australians understand domestic violence is a problem, half believe it isn't a problem in their own community.
"We need to have everyone understanding that we all play a role," ANROWS chief executive Tessa Boyd-Caine said.
"As rates of gendered violence remain devastatingly high, we need to do more than simply understand the problem, we also need to ensure well-informed action to address it."
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