Global Health

Sexual violence against women leads to lifetime harm

A new study shows that women who suffer intimate partner violence have an increased lifetime risk of mental health disorders. The study, which covered more than 4,400 women and was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that 27 percent of the women said they had suffered from sexual or physical violence, or been stalked.

The women were 3 to 11 times more likely to have ever had a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety, and the risk increased dramatically with a greater proportion of the trauma suffered. For women who had suffered at least three of four types of violence, such as rape, other types of sexual assault, physical abuse by a partner or stalking, a full 89 percent had a mental health condition at some point in their lives.

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Tags: Lifetime, Lifetime Harm