New Research: Intimate Partner Violence and Emotional Abuse

Dr Janet Fanslow and Dr Elizabeth Robinson at The University of Auckland have released a paper on the relationship between intimate partner abuse and emotional abuse. 

'Sticks, Stones or Words? Counting the Prevalence of Different Types of Intimate Partner Violence Reported by New Zealand Women' has been published in the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 20:741-759, 2011. 

The study documents the lifetime and 12 month prevalence and overlap of psychological/emotional, physical,  and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) reported by a representative sample of New Zealand Women.  The use of controlling behaviours by current or most recent partners is also explored. 

The results indicate at 55% of ever partnered women had experienced any IPV in their lifetime: 

• 33% of women had experienced more than one type of IPV (usually psychological/emotional violence along with physical and/or sexual violence)
• 22% had experienced one type of IPV

The use of controlling behaviours by the women's current or most recent partner was associated with that partner's use of physical or sexual violence. 

Implications are discussed at a population level, for service providers, and for future studies. 

You can access this article online at this link DOI.

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