Men and women hold vastly different views of what constitutes family violence, with young men the least likely to recognise abusive domestic behaviour, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

The survey of more than 1,000 people comes as parliament prepares to finalise the membership of a controversial new family law inquiry that community groups fear will be hijacked by One Nation and men’s rights activists.

Hanson, who has claimed that some women invent domestic violence claims to help in custody cases, has begun a series of information nights about the inquiry, with the first being held in Rockhampton on Wednesday night.

According to the Essential survey, males aged between 18 and 34 are less likely than the others to identify behaviours as family violence and are also the most likely group to suggest “enough is being done” to provide education in schools about family violence.

The figures show that 37% of men surveyed do not believe sexual assault would be considered a type of family violence, with almost 50% of men aged 18 to 34 not recognising the behaviour as abusive.

While 78% of males and 83% of females say “hitting, punching or restraining in any way” is considered family violence, among young males this drops to just 63%.

Older Australians of both genders were far more likely to recognise domestic abuse, with 92% of those over the age of 55 identifying the physical behaviour as family violence, including 95% of men in this age group.

When asked about a range of controlling behaviour, including financial control, limiting a person’s access to friends or family, stalking behaviour such as spying, and controlling a person’s religion, less than 50% of young men thought they would be considered family violence.

Displaying “threatening behaviour” was seen as family violence by only 57% of young males, compared to 88% of men over the age of 55 and 86% of older women.

Younger women were less likely than older women to identify behaviour classified as family violence, but were most likely to report the threat of family violence as the greatest risk to their personal safety.

Among young females between the age of 18 and 34, 9% said the threat of family violence was the greatest threat to their personal safety – the highest of any other gender and age group.

No males over the age of 55 expressed concern about family violence being a threat to their personal safety, with this age group more concerned about natural disasters (6%) and nuclear warfare (4%) and most concerned about car accidents (28%).

The survey also canvassed whether people believed enough was being done to address family violence in Australia across a range of measures.

Just 17% of people thought enough was being done on behaviour programs to help perpetrators change their violent behaviour, with 64% of people believing action in this space was inadequate and 19% unsure.

Only 21% of those polled believed education in schools was sufficient to prevent attitudes that lead to family violence, with the figure lower among females. Only 17% of women said enough was being done, compared to 25% of men.

Young males were the most likely to suggest enough was being done on the education front (29%) while just 13% of older women agreed.

Coalition voters were also more likely to say that enough was being done to address family violence, compared to Labor and Greens voters. Those who said they voted for independent or other parties, including One Nation, broadly lined up with Coalition voters.

The government has committed $840m since 2013 on domestic violence programs as part of the four-stage 2010-22 national action plan.

According to Our Watch, one woman a week is murdered in Australia by her current or former partner, with one in three women having experienced physical violence against them since the age of 15, and one in five experiencing sexual assault.