By Dane Waters.
While brainstorming ideas for our monthly communications group at Community, Respect and Equality—a space where community members collaborate to prevent family violence—I came across powerful research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The Ten to Men study, a landmark longitudinal study, explores the attitudes and beliefs of men in Australia over time.
One statistic struck me deeply: 1 in 3 men (35%) in Australia have used intimate partner violence. Even though I’m familiar with the high rates, seeing it laid out like that is always confronting. It equates to approximately 120,000 men starting to use violence every year—more than could fill the MCG. Behind every number is a story—shattered lives, broken trust, families in pain. This is why I care so deeply about prevention. This is why I’m involved in CRE.
The research is clear—if we want to reduce family violence, we need to change the underlying drivers and shift the social norms that enable it. That’s what CRE is all about. But here’s the hopeful part: the Ten to Men study also found that men who received strong affection from their father or a father figure during childhood were 48% less likely to use intimate partner violence as adults.
That’s huge. It means positive fathering is not just nurturing—it’s prevention.
I’m a father of a four-year-old and a four-week-old. As I reflected on this research, my four-year-old was tugging at me, asking me to come and play. Part of me wanted to keep working, to figure out how to share this research with the community. But I stopped. I remembered what I had just read—the power of affection and presence. So we went outside and made mud potions together.
Later that night, when I asked him about his favourite part of the day, he said:
“Making potions with you, Dad.”
That moment reminded me—this is prevention
For the recipe for prevention here it is.