Let’s talk about sex: exploring practitioners’ views on discussing intimate partner sexual violence in domestic and family violence perpetrator intervention programs

This report presents findings from a project conducted in partnership between the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and No to Violence.

This report presents findings from a study examining how domestic and family violence (DFV) perpetrator intervention programs respond to intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV). The need for focused attention on sexual violence as part of reforms to address DFV is highlighted for example, in both the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2023 (Department of Social Services [DSS] 2022) and the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (RCFV 2016). The need for increased attention on sexual violence reflects that it is an under-reported form of DFV and is a sign of escalating abuse and heightened risk including risk of lethality (RCFV 2016; Bagwell et al. 2015). Further, IPSV has unique impacts that are different to the harms of both non-sexual intimate partner violence, and sexual violence perpetrated by other assailant types.