WUNRN
Australia - Sydney Morning Herald
Also via SVRI - Sexual Violence
Research Initiative
AUSTRALIA - ONE IN FOUR WOMEN SUFFER
SEXUAL VIOLENCE - STUDY
Adele Horin - August 3, 2011
ONE in four women in Australia have been victims
of sexual or domestic violence, or have been stalked, according to a study into
mental illness that found the median age for being raped was 13.
It also found serious mental disorders and suicide
attempts are prevalent among women who had experienced these forms of
gender-based violence.
Susan Rees, the lead researcher, from the school
of psychiatry at the University of New South Wales, said the impact of gender
violence on women's mental health had been underestimated.
''This is a public health problem of some
magnitude,'' Dr Rees said.
The study, by a team of 14 psychiatrists,
psychologists and statisticians from the University of NSW and University of
Melbourne, is published today in the prestigious Journal of the American
Medical Association.
It is based on a survey of 4451 women aged 16 to
85, drawn from the Bureau of Statistics 2007 National Mental Health and
Wellbeing Survey. The survey is representative of eight million women.
Previously unpublished figures show 27 per cent of
women have experienced at least one form of gender-based violence: about 8 per
cent have been raped, 15 per cent have experienced sexual assault that did not
involve penetration, 10 per cent have been stalked, and almost 8 per cent have
been badly beaten by a spouse or partner.
However, what shocked the authors was the strong
association between the women's experience and serious mental illness. It was
especially noticeable among women with exposure to two or more forms of gender
violence.
For example, among women with no exposure to
gender violence, 28 per cent had a serious diagnosed mental illness in their
lifetime. But among those exposed to two types of gender violence, 69 per cent
had a serious mental illness. Among those with exposure to three or more types
of violence, almost 90 per cent had illnesses such as anxiety disorders,
substance abuse, or post traumatic stress disorder, and nearly 35 per cent had
attempted suicide.
''The violence has a serious impact on women's
ability to function, to work, to sustain relationships, '' she said.
Gender-based violence was more prevalent among
women from poorer backgrounds, and the first occurrence was early - a median
age of 12 for sexual assault, 13 for rape, 22 for being stalked, and 22 for violence
from a partner.
The executive officer of the NSW Rape Crisis
Centre, Karen Willis, said with counselling soon after the event and support
from family and friends, women had every chance of quick recovery.
''If women leave it for 20 years and blame themselves,
or if others tell them to 'get over it', it's more difficult,'' she said.
''It's the same with domestic violence. If women get away, that's important for
their safety. But it takes more than a house to recover from the impact on
their mental health.''
Dr Rees said women's services needed adequate
funding to deal with serious psychiatric problems and public education was
needed to alter attitudes that sanctioned violence against women.