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Costing the mental health harms of sexual and physical violence in adulthood

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Project showed that mental health disorders account for the greatest share of disease burden among survivors of intimate partner violence against females and of sexual violence against children. Economic costings of sexual violence in adulthood is often not costed and tends not to address the longer-term mental health harms despite the strong associations.

In the study, Costing the mental health harms of sexual and physical violence in adulthood: A prevalence-based analysis in England, VISION researchers Sally McManus, Ladan Hashemi, Anastasia Fadeeva, Niels Blom and Estela Capelas Barbosa, with Sylvia Walby, estimated the annual cost of experience of violence throughout adulthood, in terms of reduced quality of life and health service costs.

Data were analysed from multiple sources, including the probability sample Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey and service delivery costs. Results showed that the estimated cost of long-term reduced quality of life adults in England experienced because of violence during adulthood was £3767 million in 2019, with associated healthcare costs in that year of £4130 million. Costs of long-term lost quality of life and healthcare were evident in both women and men, although higher in women. Costs associated with combined sexual and physical violence were particularly high, the great majority of these costs resulting from experience of violence in women. Combined sexual and physical violence in women was associated with the highest cost per victim.

Both sexual and physical violence have sizeable and independent associations with long-term mental health and treatment and service use. Violence reduction has potential to reduce health service costs and increase population level quality of life.

Research Highlights

  • Economic costings rarely quantify long-term mental health harms of sexual violence in adulthood.
  • Both sexual and physical violence are associated with sizeable costs.
  • The costs result from long-term mental health harms as well as treatment and service use.
  • Most of the mental health related costs of violence fall to women.
  • Interventions that reduce violence have potential to reduce health service costs and improve quality of life.

To download the article:  Costing the mental health harms of sexual and physical violence in adulthood: A prevalence-based analysis in England

To cite: Sally McManus, Sylvia Walby, Ladan Hashemi, Anastasia Fadeeva, Niels Blom, Estela Capelas Barbosa, Costing the mental health harms of sexual and physical violence in adulthood: A prevalence-based analysis in England, Public Health, Volume 258, 2026, 106400, ISSN 0033-3506, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2026.106400.

For further information: contact Sally at sally.mcmanus@citystgeorges.ac.uk
 
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Anastasia Fadeeva granted NIHR fellowship to study health economics

 

 

Dr Anastasia Fadeeva

 

I have recently started the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) Fellowship. The focus of the DSE post-doctoral funding is to support training and development activities while securing salaried time and providing mentorship opportunities. I chose to apply for this NIHR award to develop my expertise and knowledge in health economics, an increasingly important skill in applied health research. NIHR and other funders often require expertise in this area within grant applications.

I was awarded the NIHR grant for 18 months, covering my protected time and training until the end of 2027. During this period, I will undertake an MSc in Health Economics and Policy at City St George’s University of London and also four placements with the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) Tower Hamlets, Health Economics Analysis and Research (HEART) and Health Economics Policy Lab (HELP) at UCL, the Health Economics Policy Research Unit (HEPRU) at Queen Mary University of London, and the Violence Reduction Academy (VRA).

I will be supported by two brilliant mentors – Dr Victoria Serra-Sastre, Director of the City Health Economics Centre (CHEC) and Reader in Economics at City St George’s and Dr Ceryl Teleri Davies, NIHR Advanced Fellow based at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHME) at Bangor University. Additionally, I am planning to attend two conferences—the Health Economics Study Group (HESG) Annual Meeting and the HDR UK Annual Conference—which will both be covered by the grant.

At the conclusion of the fellowship, I will have acquired new skills and knowledge in health economics, including a strong quantitative component, and developed the methodological expertise required to apply these approaches in my research. Through the placement opportunities, I will gain practical experience and improve my understanding of how practitioners in local authorities and the NHS operate. Engagement with academics, practitioners, policymakers, and local communities will help me to inform and refine my research priorities, while also allowing me to explore opportunities involving stakeholders throughout the research process.

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