Strengthening the Queensland Social Survey
Responsible government
- Queensland
Fourth Action Plan actions
- Improve support and service system responses
- 19 Build the evidence base to inform responses to domestic, family and sexual violence by strengthening the focus on what works to reduce violence, improving data and supporting the Fourth Action Plan priorities.
What are we doing?
The Queensland Government is committed to strengthening the Queensland Social Survey (QSS).
What have we achieved so far?
The Queensland Government committed to strengthening data collection under the QSS to improve the evidence base regarding Queenslanders’ attitudes and behaviours towards domestic and family violence.
The QSS 2020 included new questions to measure:
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- awareness of different forms domestic and family violence;
- beliefs and actions regarding bystander responsibilities; and
- attitudes towards domestic and family violence and gender equality.
Results for the new questions are reported in the QSS Domestic and Family Violence Survey Report 2020 and the QSS 2021.
What is next?
The QSS has been undertaken again in 2021 to further build the evidence base, including continuing the new questions and considering any further opportunities to strengthen data collection.
What difference will we make?
The results from the QSS provide an improved understanding of:
- Queenslanders’ awareness of the different types of domestic and family violence;
- Queenslanders’ perceptions of the seriousness of the different types of domestic and family violence;
- Queenslanders’ beliefs and actions regarding bystanders’ responsibilities to act in response to domestic and family violence; and
- Queenslanders’ attitudes towards domestic and family violence and gender equality.
Indicators of success include:
- Increased proportion of adult Queenslanders who recognise specific behaviours described in the QSS are forms of domestic and family violence:
- In 2021, 94% of Queenslanders recognise trying to control a partner by denying them access to money as domestic and family violence (no significant change on this measure compared to previous years.
- Increased proportion of adult Queenslanders who view specific behaviours described in the QSS as ‘quite serious’ or ‘very serious’:
- In 2021, Queenslanders were significantly more likely to think it was ‘very or quite serious’ to try to control a partner by denying them access to money (95.0% compared to 90.1% in 2017).
- Increased proportion of Queensland adults who would do something if they saw or were aware of domestic and family violence involving their neighbours:
- In 2021, 91.6% of Queenslanders thought they would do something about it if they saw or were aware of physical domestic and family violence involving their neighbours, with significantly less Queenslanders likely to call the police (68.5% in 2021 compared to 77.4% in 2020 and 78.9% in 2017) but those in 2021 (22.8%) were significantly more likely than those in 2020 (17.5%) to speak to the victim or perpetrator about it later;
- In 2021, 72.5% of Queenslanders thought they would so something about it if they saw or were aware of non-physical domestic and family violence involving their neighbours, with significantly less Queenslanders likely to think they wouldn’t do anything about it (15.1% in 2021 compared to 23.7% in 2017).
- Increased proportion of adult Queenslanders who ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ with the statement, ‘Reducing gender inequality in society will help to reduce domestic and family violence in Australia’:
- In 2021, 65.1% of Queenslanders ‘agreed or strongly agreed’ that reducing gender inequality in society will help to reduce domestic and family violence in Australia (No statistically significant difference between 2021 and 2020. As this was a new question in 2020, no comparison could be made to 2017).