Domestic, Family & Sexual Violence
Domestic and family violence is when someone who is in a ‘domestic relationship’ with you, including a partner, ex-partner, family member, or housemate, hurts you or makes you feel afraid, powerless, or unsafe.
Sexual violence is being forced, pressured or tricked into doing sexual things when you don’t want to. Sexual violence can be a form of domestic and family violence, but it may also happen outside a current or previous relationship.
Free legal help for women & non-binary persons
What is domestic and family violence?
Domestic and family violence is when someone in a ‘domestic relationship’ with you hurts you or makes you feel afraid, powerless, or unsafe. It can happen in many different relationships including:
- A partner, such as a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife;
- An ex-partner, such as ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend, ex-husband, or ex-wife;
- Someone you live or have lived with, such as housemate;
- A family member;
- A guardian or carer; or
- Some other form of intimate, personal relationship.
Anyone can experience domestic and family violence – it happens to people of any age, culture, sex, and community.
Types of domestic and family violence can include:
- Psychological and emotional violence – humiliation, intimidation, control over movements, humbugging
- Physical violence – hitting and punching
- Sexual violence – inappropriate touching, sexual assault, and/or rape
- Financial violence – controlling or limiting your access to money, running up large amounts of debt on joint accounts or in your name, preventing you from working
- Verbal violence – calling you names and swearing at you
- Cultural violence – being rude about your culture and stopping your cultural practise
- Stalking – following you, calling you, or texting you when you’ve told them to stop
- Damaging your property, including your house or pets
- Threatening to do any of the above
You and your family members have a human right to feel safe and live without fear. When someone perpetrates domestic and family violence, it is the offender’s fault, and they are breaking the law.
You can learn more about domestic violence orders (DVOs) by reading our factsheet here.
What is sexual violence?
Sexual violence is when someone forces, pressures, or tricks another person into doing sexual activities or acts when they don’t want to. Some other words used to describe forms of sexual violence are sexual assault, sexual abuse, and rape.
Sexual violence can be a form of domestic and family violence, but it can also happen outside a current or previous relationship.
It is never okay for anyone to force you to do something that you are not comfortable with, even if you are in a relationship with them or married to them.
There are many different types of sexual violence, but it can include someone:
- Looking at or touching your private parts or genitals (including your breasts, bottom, vagina, and penis)
- Putting their genitals, fingers, or anything else inside you when you don’t want them to
- Showing you their genitals or 'flashing'
- Taking off a condom before or during sex without your permission
- Posting sexual pictures of you on the internet when you haven’t given permission for this
- Stopping you from making your own choices about whether or not to have a baby
- 'Grooming' of a child, which is when a person who wants to sexually hurt a child gets the child to trust them
- Any sexual act with a child
- Mandatory reporting laws require that this type of violence must be reported to NT Police and/or child safety authorities
- Doing sexual things to you when you are affected by drugs or alcohol and are confused about what is happening or what you are consenting to.
What is personal violence?
Personal violence is violence the occurs outside of a personal, family, intimate, or housemate relationship, with the violence taking the same forms as domestic and family violence.
Typically, personal violence happens at work, at home between neighbours, or through random acts of violence.
You can learn more about personal violence restraining orders (PVROs) by reading our factsheet here.
Mandatory reporting in the Northern Territory
In the NT, it is the law that you must report domestic and family violence if someone has or is likely to cause serious physical harm to a person, or if you are concerned that a person’s life is under serious or imminent threat – this is known as mandatory reporting.
Mandatory reporting incidents must be reported to the Police. If you fail to make a mandatory report and you should have, you may be charged with an offence. There are important exceptions to mandatory reporting, including where the relevant harm has already been reported, as well as when a person is helping the person at risk to escape the situation before making their report.
When should I get help with domestic, family, and sexual violence?
- Do you have fears for your safety?
- Have you experienced domestic, family, and sexual violence?
- Do you want information about domestic violence orders (DVO)?
- Do you want information about the criminal process regarding reporting domestic, family, and sexual violence?
- Has someone broken the rules of a DVO that protects you?
- Do you want information about personal violence restraining orders (PVRO)?
Free legal help for women & non-binary persons
