A review of domestic violence and women's mental health

Summary

Domestic violence is a major public health problem throughout the world. Domestic violence against women is perpetrated by intimate male partners on family members, and may give rise to both physical and mental health sequelae. Mental health consequences include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, borderline personality disorder, dissociative disorder, somatization, and self-harm behaviours. Psychiatrists may be called upon to assess and/or treat victims or perpetrators of domestic violence or to act as expert court witnesses. This paper reviews some of the mental health aspects of domestic violence..