North Memorial Health Care

Health Effects of Domestic Abuse
From Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights

The effects of violence on a victim's health are severe. In addition to the immediate injuries from the assault, battered women may suffer from chronic pain, gastrointestinal disorders, psychosomatic symptoms, and eating problems. Although psychological abuse is often considered less severe than physical violence, health care providers and advocates around the world are increasingly recognizing devastating mental health effects of domestic violence, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression. Women who are abused suffer an increased risk of unplanned or early pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. As trauma victims, they are also at an increased risk of substance abuse. Women are particularly vulnerable to attacks when pregnant, and thus may more often experience medical difficulties in their pregnancies.

Domestic violence can be fatal; women are both intentionally murdered by their partners and lose their life as a result of injuries inflicted by them. In addition to the danger of death from injury or intentional homicides, research also indicates that women who are abused may be more likely to commit suicide. Suicide is 12 times as likely to have been attempted by a woman who has been abused than by one who has not." From UNICEF, Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls, 6 Innocenti Digest 1, 4 (2000).

The secondary effects of domestic violence involve the victim's ability to function in daily life. victims of domestic violence often take more absences from work to visit the doctor. Battering may lead to feelings of shame, embarrassment and humiliation, particularly when beatings leave marks, which in turn may lead to further isolation from friends and family and to absences from work. Because of increased absences and substance abuse, battered women may find it difficult to maintain steady employment. Escaping the violence may require a complete abandonment of job, home and belongings. From Barbara Johnson, Reducing Intimate Partner Abuse: A Look at National, State, and Local Strategies for the Prevention of Domestic Violence(2002).

The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and Futures Without Violence (formerly the Family Violence Prevention Fund) provides an excellent overview of the health effects of domestic violence on women and children.