Gender-based violence can impact anyone and can include intimate partner and family violence, and elder abuse. Gender-based violence is based on an imbalance of power and is carried out with the intention to humiliate and make a person or group of people feel inferior and/or subordinate. Gender-based violence also refers to any type of harm that is used against a person or group of people because of their factual or perceived sex, gender, sexual orientation and/or gender/identity.
Improving gender equality is a crucial strategy for addressing gender-based violence. By promoting equal rights, opportunities and treatment for all genders, communities can dismantle the root causes of violence and create a safer environment for everyone.
The Australian Government’s Working with Women Strategy notes that there have been substantial improvements in women’s economic equality in recent decades with increases to women's workforce participation, growth in women's level of educational attainment, reductions in the gender pay gap and narrowing of the retirement income gap. However, this progress has been slow and more work is needed to achieve economic equality.
Women in Australia continue to retire with considerably less superannuation than men. Australian Super estimates the average balance for women aged 60 to 64 is $300,300 compared to $401,600 for men. As cited by Economic S4W (2018) this disparity is largely driven by the gender pay gap (Figure 1), time taken out of the workforce for caring responsibilities (Figure 2) and the higher proportion of women in part-time or casual work (Figure 3).
The Victorian Women’s Health Atlas compares the individual weekly income of males and females. Boroondara continues to report a higher proportion of both men and women earning at or above the minimum weekly income compared to the state average. Although there has been gradual improvement for women in both Boroondara and Victoria, the data highlights that income inequality persists.
Figure 1: Boroondara and Victorian individual weekly income % above the minimum weekly wage.
Data source: The Victorian Women’s Health Atlas
While men are more likely to report doing no unpaid domestic work (22.7% compared to 18.0% of women), women are significantly more likely to spend greater amounts of time on these responsibilities (Figure 2). Boroondara women are also more likely to provide unpaid care for children, or to a person with disability, health condition, or due to age (Figure 3). This reinforces the ongoing imbalance in the division of unpaid labour, which has implications for gender equality, especially in terms of workforce participation and economic security.
Figure 2: Boroondara residents’ unpaid domestic work hours by gender
Data source: Census of Population and Housing, 2021, TableBuilder
Figure 3 Boroondara residents (aged 15+) unpaid childcare and unpaid assistance to a person with disability, health condition or due to age, by gender.
Data source: Census of Population and Housing, 2021, TableBuilder
According to the 2021 Census, the most common weekly working hours for females in Boroondara was 30 to 34 hours, compared to 40 to 44 hours for males. This is reflected in Figure 4, which shows that 31% of females aged 15 to 64 work part time, while 54% of males aged 15 to 64 are employed full time. In addition, 22.7% of females and 17.5% of males aged 15 to 64 aren’t in the labour force.
Figure 4: Boroondara residents, aged 15 to 64, Labour force status by Gender.
Data source: Census of Population and Housing, 2021, TableBuilder
Gender inequality is a driver of violence against women
Gender inequality sets the underlying context for violence against women. Our Watch’s Change the story points to 4 gendered drivers of violence:
- condoning of violence against women
- men’s control of decision-making and limits to women’s independence in public and private life
- rigid gender stereotyping and dominant forms of masculinity
- male peer relations and cultures of masculinity that emphasise aggression, dominance and control.
The Victorian Women’s Health Atlas cites that many women experience incidents of violence throughout their lives, most often at the hands of someone they know. In fact, nationally intimate partner violence is the leading risk factor contributing to illness, disability and death among women of reproductive age – ranking higher than smoking, alcohol misuse or obesity.
While most people who experience family violence are women, it can impact anyone. See our Family violence crime statistics page for information on incidents and those affected.
For older women, violence includes elder abuse, which can occur in non-family or domestic settings. Elder abuse can include financial abuse, where an older person's money, assets or property are misused or stolen.
Perceptions of Safety
Feeling safe in one's local area is a key indicator of overall community wellbeing—and is deeply linked to the experience of actual safety. Boroondara is a relatively low crime area, but a 2025 study by Griffith University of women who live in high crime areas of Melbourne found that women often modify their behaviour—avoiding particular areas, travelling in groups or adjusting their appearance—because they feel they don’t belong in certain public spaces like parks or transport hubs (Griffith University, 2025).
Data consistently shows that women feel less safe in their local areas than men. The Scanlon Institute - Social Cohesion Report 2024 states that 54% of Australian women feel a bit, or very unsafe walking alone at night in their local area, compared to 25% of males. The same report cites that more than a third of Australian women are fairly or very worried about becoming a victim of crime in their local area (36%), compared to a quarter of men (25%).