Associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and poor physical and mental health of women have been demonstrated in the international and national literature across numerous studies. This paper presents a review of the literature on this topic. The 75 papers included in this review cover both original research studies and those which undertook secondary analyses of primary data sources. The reviewed research papers published from 2006 to 2012 include quantitative and qualitative studies from Western and developing countries. The results show that while there is variation in prevalence of IPV across various cultural settings, IPV was associated with a range of mental health issues including depression, PTSD, anxiety, self-harm, and sleep disorders. In most studies, these effects were observed using validated measurement tools. IPV was also found to be associated with poor physical health including poor functional health, somatic disorders, chronic disorders and chronic pain, gynaecological problems, and increased risk of STIs. An increased risk of HIV was reported to be associated with a history of sexual abuse and violence. The implications of the study findings in relation to methodological issues, clinical significance, and future research direction are discussed. 1. Introduction Intimate partner violence (IPV) is an entrenched public health and social problem across both developed and developing nations. The World Health Organisation in its 2010 report defines IPV as “behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours” [1, page 11]. This definition covers violence by both current and former spouses and intimate partners. There is a growing recognition and understanding of the potential health consequences of IPV both in relation to acute and chronic health impacts beyond the physical trauma cases seen in emergency departments of acute care hospitals and primary care settings. In the past two decades, a growing body of literature has focused on associations between IPV and physical and mental health across a wide range of disciplines. This is reflected in the increasing volume of research articles that deal with psychological consequences and correlates of IPV, including PTSD and other related psychological conditions. Since the adoption of the 1993 United Nations General Assembly resolution Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) [2], acceptance of IPV as a
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