For survivors, at their pace
Women-only and trauma-aware sessions, in partnership with specialist family violence services. No contact sparring. You choose what you do, every session.
Who we help / Family and domestic violence
Family and domestic violence
Strength, safety and a crew in your corner.
Family and domestic violence touches millions of Australians, most of them women and children. Through The Ropes can offer survivors a safe, trauma-aware space to rebuild strength and confidence, and help boys and young men learn respect, self-control and what a good mate looks like.
By the numbers
Family and domestic violence in Australia.
- 1 in 4women (2.3 million) have experienced violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15Source: AIHW, Family, domestic and sexual violence: intimate partner violence
- 1 in 14men (693,000) have tooSource: AIHW, Family, domestic and sexual violence: intimate partner violence
- 11 dayson average, one woman was killed by an intimate partner every 11 days in 2024-25Source: AIHW, Family, domestic and sexual violence: domestic homicide (AIC data, 2024-25)
- 117,000people who came to homelessness services in 2024-25 had experienced family and domestic violenceSource: AIHW, Family, domestic and sexual violence: summary (2024-25 data)
The picture
How widespread it is.
Behind the numbers
Recovery is more than leaving.
Family and domestic violence is a pattern of power and control, not a one-off fight. It includes physical and sexual violence, and emotional and economic abuse. Most of the people who experience it are women and children; men experience it too.
Violence follows people. Around half of all assault hospitalisations in 2024-25 were for family and domestic violence, and 40% of people who came to homelessness services had experienced it. Two in five Australians were exposed to domestic violence as children.
Children who grow up with violence carry it. A national study found at least 89% of young people who used violence in their family had themselves experienced child abuse. Breaking the cycle means caring for children and young people, and teaching boys respect early.
How Through The Ropes can help
Two kinds of corner.
Strength you can feel
Fitness, confidence and a group who back you. Exercise is good for mood, sleep and stress, and the crew is good for loneliness.
Respect, taught by coaches
For boys and young men: discipline, emotional control and respect for women and girls, taught by people they look up to.
Always with the specialists
Safety planning, counselling and legal help stay with specialist services. We'll work alongside them and refer straight back.
Potential for impact
What the evidence says.
- Activity after violence. A 2025 review of 11 studies with women who have experienced intimate partner violence found physical activity may support mental health, and that trauma- and violence-informed delivery made programmes more acceptable. The evidence is still limited.Source: Baker et al. (2025), physical activity and women who have experienced intimate partner violence, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
- Coaches can teach respect. In Coaching Boys Into Men, sports coaches deliver short talks on respect and consent. A trial across 41 middle schools found less abusive behaviour towards dating partners one year later.Source: Miller et al. (2020), Coaching Boys Into Men: cluster randomised trial in middle schools, JAMA Pediatrics
- Exercise eases depression. A 2024 BMJ review of 218 trials with over 14,000 people found exercise reduced depression, with more vigorous exercise doing better. Many of the trials were small or at risk of bias, so the certainty is rated low, but the direction is consistent.Source: Noetel et al. (2024), Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis, BMJ
Honest about what we know. Through The Ropes is not a family violence service or a behaviour change programme, and boxing is not a fix for violence. What the evidence supports is safe physical activity for wellbeing, and coach-led respect programmes for boys. Every survivor cohort would be designed with a specialist service, and safety comes first.
What we will measure with every cohort, and publish:
- Who starts, who finishes, and why people leave early
- Wellbeing and mood at week 1, week 10 and three months later, using a standard validated scale
- Fitness and attendance: sessions completed out of thirty
- Next steps at three and six months: work, study, training, sport, housing
- Feeling safe, strong and connected, in measures chosen with the specialist service
Are you a family violence service?
Talk to us about a safe, women-only cohort for the people you support, or a respect programme for boys.
Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status pending.
Sources
- AIHW, Family, domestic and sexual violence: intimate partner violence
- ABS, Partner violence, 2021-22 (Personal Safety Survey)
- AIHW, Family, domestic and sexual violence: domestic homicide (AIC data, 2024-25)
- AIHW, Family, domestic and sexual violence: summary (2024-25 data)
- AIHW, Family, domestic and sexual violence: children and young people
- Fitz-Gibbon and Meyer (2022), national study of young people who use family violence, The Conversation
- Baker et al. (2025), physical activity and women who have experienced intimate partner violence, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
- Miller et al. (2020), Coaching Boys Into Men: cluster randomised trial in middle schools, JAMA Pediatrics
- Noetel et al. (2024), Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis, BMJ
Figures are the latest published at the time of writing (October 2026). Back to Who we help.