This report details the results from the 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS). It presents findings for the Australian community as a whole and considers them in the context of related research.

This report also includes information about the research design and presents implications for research, policy and practice. The 2021 NCAS report will interest stakeholders tasked with responding to, reducing and preventing violence against women, including policymakers, practitioners, practice designers, educators, researchers, community organisations and media.

Key findings:

• Understanding and attitudes regarding violence against women are improving slowly, but further progress is needed.
• Understanding of the gendered nature of domestic violence lags behind recognition of individual violent behaviours.
• Understanding of the diverse forms of violence against women has slowly improved but there is less recognition of non-physical abuse and coercive control than physical forms of violence.
• Community attitudes towards gender inequality are slowly improving but some attitudes that support gender inequality persist in a sizeable minority of the population.