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Measuring perpetration of intimate partner violence: A systematic review

Understanding how common intimate partner violence (IPV) is in different groups and settings can inform better policies and interventions to prevent IPV and reduce its impact on public health. Much of the existing research on IPV has measured IPV victimisation in populations. But IPV reported by victims, e.g. in nationally representative crime or health surveys, reflects the behaviour of perpetrators. Asking people in surveys about their perpetration of IPV, and how frequently harmful behaviour(such as physical, sexual, or psychological harm) occur, is also important.

A new systematic review by VISION collaborator Vishal Bhavsar and VISION co-investigator Sian Oram gathers evidence on how IPV perpetration is measured in health surveys of the general population and presents a set of measurement principles. Based on 39 published articles, they find 27 health surveys containing information on IPV perpetration. These measures vary in detail, ranging from one or two binary items to more comprehensive scales. In many cases, the more detailed measures are adaptations of victimisation items reframed to capture perpetration, while a smaller number of studies use instruments specifically developed for IPV perpetration. Information relevant to understanding the public health implications of IPV perpetration, such as the sex and number of victims per perpetrator, the nature of relationships (e.g. marital, cohabiting), patterns of frequency or escalation, and harmful impact on victims, is not consistently collected. Details on the development and validation of measurement items are also often lacking.

Distinguishing IPV perpetrators from victims in measurement is important for the development of interventions, particularly where policies or programmes are designed to engage individuals who perpetrate IPV. Although health surveys do include some measures of perpetration, the extent and detail of these measures are limited. Some of the principles developed and applied in the review might also apply to the measurement of IPV perpetration and other forms of domestic abuse in electronic health records or policing data. A future cross-sector consensus on how to measure IPV perpetration might be helpful in informing the societal response to preventing IPV.

To download the paper: The Measurement of Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence in General Population Health Surveys: Systematic Review

To cite: Bhavsar, V., Oram, S. The Measurement of Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence in General Population Health Surveys: Systematic Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. OnlineFirst, March 31, 2026.  https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-026-00272-2

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Perpetration of intimate partner violence and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm: a cross-sectional secondary analysis using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

Intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is associated with suicidal behaviour. Suicidal behaviour may also be raised among those who perpetrate IPV compared to those who do not; general population-based evidence is, however, lacking.

The research team, led by Dr Sophie Carlisle (Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust) with VISION researchers Professor Sally McManus, Professor Louise Howard, and Dr Vishal Bhavsar and others, aimed to investigate the associations between using violence against an intimate partner with suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt and non-suicidal self-harm in the past year.

In contrast to previous research focusing on those in contact with criminal justice or health services or with IPV perpetrator programmes, this study presents the first examination of the association between IPV perpetration and suicidality in a recent UK general population sample, which can contribute to the development of a national picture of this association and inform population level strategies to address both suicide and IPV perpetration.

The research team analysed data from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Logistic regressions estimated associations between IPV perpetration and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and self-harm. Associations were estimated for men and women separately, and the team explored interaction in estimates by IPV victimization.

There were greater odds of suicidality and self-harm among self-reported perpetrators of IPV compared to the general population. Many of these associations were accounted for by non-IPV life adversities, IPV victimization and substance use. Improving the identification and management of IPV perpetration, and developing targeted safety planning and interventions for this group could reduce suicide for perpetrators and victims of IPV.

Future research generating adequately powered evidence on differences in these associations based on age or ethnic group, could inform targeted prevention/intervention strategies. Future work assessing the impact of increasing severity, or frequency, of IPV perpetration on risk of suicidality could also be helpful in informing future intervention strategies. Finally, further work should also consider the relevance of suicidality to a variety of harmful behaviours perpetrated within IPV. There remains limited evidence for interventions to reduce suicidality for perpetrators of IPV, including perpetrators who are also IPV victims.

Recommendation

Targeted identification and support for perpetrators of IPV could positively impact responses to suicidality and non-suicidal self-harm.

To download the paper: Perpetration of intimate partner violence and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm: a cross-sectional secondary analysis using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey

To cite: Carlisle S, Whyte R, Saunders K, McManus S, Oram S, Howard L, Bhavsar V. Perpetration of intimate partner violence and suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, and non-suicidal self-harm: a cross-sectional secondary analysis using the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2026 Mar 26;35:e16. doi: 10.1017/S2045796026100559. PMID: 41883282.

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VISION responds to Parliamentary, government & non-government consultations

Consultation, evidence and inquiry submissions are an important part of our work at VISION. Responding to Parliamentary, government and non-government organisation consultations ensures that a wide range of opinions and voices are factored into the policy decision making process. As our interdisciplinary research addresses violence and how it cuts across health, crime and justice and the life course, we think it is important to take the time to answer any relevant call and to share our insight and findings to support improved policy and practice. We respond as VISION, the Violence & Society Centre, and sometimes in collaboration with others. Below are the links to our published responses and evidence from June 2022.

  1. UK Parliament – International Development Committee – Inquiry: Women, Peace and Security. Our submission was published in March 2026
  2. UK Parliament – Public Bill Committee – Call for evidence: Crime and Policing Bill. Our submission was published in 2025
  3. UK Parliament (Library) – POSTNote – Approved Work: Violence Against Women and Girls in schools and among children & young people. Two VISION reports were referenced in their POSTNote published in August 2025
  4. UK Parliament – Public Accounts Committee – Inquiry: Tackling Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG). Our submission was published in April 2025
  5. UK Parliament – House of Lords Select Committee on Social Mobility Policy – Call for Evidence: Exploring how education and work opportunities can be better integrated to improve social mobility across the UK. Our submission was published in 2025
  6. UK Parliament – Women and Equalities Committee – Inquiry: Community Cohesion. Our submission was published in February 2025
  7. UK Parliament – Call for evidence on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Our submission was published in February 2025
  8. UK Parliament – Public Accounts Committee – Inquiry: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Government. Our submission was published in January 2025
  9. UK Parliament – Public Accounts Committee – Inquiry: Tackling Homelessness. Our submission with Dr Natasha Chilman was published in January 2025. See the full report
  10. Home Office – Legislation consultation: Statutory Guidance for the Conduct of Domestic Homicide Reviews. Our submission was published on the VISION website in July 2024
  11. UK Parliament – Women and Equalities Committee – Inquiry: The rights of older people. Our submission was published in November 2023
  12. UK Parliament  – Women and Equalities Committee – Inquiry: The impact of the rising cost of living on women. Our submission was published in November 2023
  13. UK Parliament – Women and Equalities Committee – Inquiry: The escalation of violence against women and girls. Our submission published in September 2023
  14. Home Office – Legislation consultation: Machetes and other bladed articles: proposed legislation (submitted response 06/06/2023). Government response to consultation and summary of public responses was published in August 2023
  15. Welsh Government – Consultation: National action plan to prevent the abuse of older people. Summary of the responses published in April 2023
  16. Race Disparity Unit (RDU) – Consultation: Standards for Ethnicity Data (submitted response 30/08/2022). Following the consultation, a revised version of the data standards was published in April 2023
  17. UK Parliament – The Home Affairs Committee – Call for evidence: Human Trafficking. Our submission was published in March 2023
  18. UN expert – Call for evidence: Violence, abuse and neglect in older people. Our submission was published in February 2023
  19. UK Parliament – The Justice and Home Affairs Committee – Inquiry: Family migration. Our submission was published in September 2022 and a report was published following the inquiry in February 2023
  20. Home Office – Consultation: Controlling or Coercive behaviour Statutory Guidance. Our submission was published in June 2022

For further information, please contact us at VISION_Management_Team@city.ac.uk

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Employment consequences of intimate partner violence and abuse

Intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) is a global problem. Despite its prevalence, few studies have investigated the employment impact of IPVA, with existing studies spread across multiple disciplines including criminology, economics, and public health. Investigating the employment impacts of IPVA are crucial for understanding the consequences to victim-survivors and wider society.

This systematic review, Employment consequences of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse, conducted by VISION researcher Dr Niels Blom and Flavia Andrea Lamarre, provides an overview of the main findings on the topic and identified research gaps and opportunities for future research.

Niels and Flavia identified studies via Embase, APA PsycInfo, PubMed, Social Sciences Citation Index, and two related reviews. The studies concerned the association between IPVA and absenteeism, time off from work, unemployment, and/or job loss and were peer-reviewed, English-language, quantitative studies. 

Overall, the 48 identified studies indicated a clear relationship between IPVA and absenteeism/time off work, but evidence was more mixed regarding the association between IPVA and job loss or unemployment. The limitations of current research were discussed, which included that the far majority of studies concerned the United States, investigated only victimization among women, and few used nationally representative data. Male victim-survivors, differences by ethnicity or socioeconomic class, perpetration, and how employment circumstances may help or hinder victim-survivors’ labor market involvement had received limited attention in the literature.

Filling these gaps would provide a stronger evidence-base for effective policies, enabling victim-survivors to retain their employment.

Recommendations

  1. Managers and colleagues should have access to training and assistance in aiding victim-survivors where appropriate, potentially with mandatory training for managers and HR staff.
  2. The large majority of studies stemmed from the United States, which makes it less evident whether the found associations also apply to other societal contexts. Cross-national or cross-state research could help.
  3. For a topic where employment is the central aspect, there has been remarkably little attention to employment circumstances and employers’ role. Further research is needed to examine variation across these aspects to understand what enables victim-survivors to retain employment and long-term productivity. 
  4. A minority of the studies included men. Future work could explore what explains gender differences in the employment impact of IPVA, and when they are more pronounced. Differences by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and age have received limited attention, warranting further research.
  5. There has been a limited amount of work on IPVA perpetrators and their employment. Further work in this area is important.

To cite: Blom, N., & Lamarre, F. A. (2025). Employment Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse: A Systematic Review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380251395105

For further information: Please contact Niels at niels.blom@manchester.ac.uk

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Insecure migration status increases risk of multiple forms of violence

Insecure migration status is defined as any person who does not have a long term secure immigration status and might fear removal from the country if they fail to comply with their visa restrictions, even if the failure to comply is unknown to them, if forced due to fear for their physical safety, or is coerced.

Research produced by Drs Alexandria Innes and Hannah Manzur of the VISION consortium and PhD student Jana Kriechbaum, Violence and Society Centre at City St George’s University of London, found that people in insecure migration status face or fear violence where violence prevention efforts and violence protection are either not extended to them, or are not made accessible to them.

Findings from their VISION Policy Briefing

The prevalence of violence against people in insecure migration status is a cause for concern. Prevalence of violence is not meaningfully different for people based on type of insecure status, such as those with undocumented status, asylum seekers and refugees, or employer-dependent visas.

Women on spousal visas connect experiences of domestic violence to insecurities associated with their immigration status. The power imbalance embedded in relationships that involve one citizen and one foreigner is exacerbated by attaching the relationship to dependent visa restrictions. Women on spousal visas associated their inability or unwillingness to leave a violent homelife with a fear of immigration removal, therefore prolonging their exposure to violence.

Recommendations

  1. Decouple immigration enforcement from violence prosecution and victim support
  2. Expand protections for survivors of domestic violence
  3. Strengthen protections for victims of work-related exploitation and improve employer regulations
  4. Address state violence in detention and border contexts
  5. Align immigration policies with public health frameworks

To download the VISION Policy Briefing: Insecure Migration

To cite: Innes, Alexandria; Manzur, Hannah; Kriechbaum, Jana (2025). VISION Policy Briefing: Insecure Migration. City, University of London. Report. https://doi.org/10.25383/city.29860142.v1

For further information, please contact Andri at Alexandria.Innes@citystgeorges.ac.uk

Confronting violence against vulnerable groups: Insights from a Pint of Social Sciences

On a balmy May evening, VISION researchers Dr Anastasia Fadeeva and Dr Ladan Hashemi had the pleasure of presenting at Pint of Social Science, an engaging public event held at a local pub. The event, organised by Caroline (Cassie) Sipos, Business Development Manager for the School of Policy and Global Affairs, City St George’s University of London, was part of the broader Pint of Science movement.

This event, one of many on the same night, is an annual global festival bringing academic research into informal, accessible spaces such as pubs or cafes. The environment enables researchers and the public to connect over important social issues, drinks, and conversation.

Anastasia showcased her research on violence against older people, an often-overlooked area of abuse and harm. She spoke about different forms of violence in older age, including physical, emotional, and economic, and discussed the social and structural barriers that allow this violence to remain hidden. Anastasia also shared the findings from the recent study that measured the prevalence of violence in older age and the associations between violence and mental health in later life. The talk concluded with calls for stronger protective measures and greater public awareness to safeguard the dignity and wellbeing of older populations.

Ladan shared the Breaking the Silence campaign, which uses culturally sensitive animations to amplify the voices of women in Iran affected by violence. Grounded in a survey of 453 Iranian women, the campaign highlights the widespread and multifaceted nature of violence against women and girls, and the urgent need for greater awareness and legal reform. Through powerful storytelling, the animations address issues such as coercive control, economic abuse, and technology facilitated abuse, while promoting the role of active bystanders and signposting available support services. The campaign aims to break taboos, raise awareness, and foster dialogue about women’s rights and freedoms in Iran.

The evening provided a lively and welcoming space for thoughtful conversations and personal reflections. The audience was engaged with both talks, asking insightful questions—often the kind that don’t come up in professional or academic settings. Pint of Social Sciences was a reminder of the value of public engagement and the importance of making research accessible beyond academia. Events like this help to build understanding and inspire collective action towards a more just and informed society.

For further information, please contact VISION_Management_Team@citystgeorges.ac.uk

Photographs: Top – Dr Anastasia Fadeeva; Above – Dr Ladan Hashemi

Healthcare responding to violence and abuse in Brazil

Domestic violence against women (DVAW) is a public health issue and a breach of human rights, yet evidence on effective interventions remains limited, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. In Brazil, around one third of women have reported current or previous experiences of DVAW, especially perpetrated by intimate partners. Brazil has a comprehensive policy framework on DVAW, however, their implementation has been piecemeal and low priority.

The research team, led by VISION co-Deputy Director Dr Estela Capelas Barbosa, aimed to evaluate changes in identification and referral to specialist support associated with system-level strategies implemented within Brazilian primary healthcare (PHC) to strengthen the response to DVAW as part of the Healthcare Responding to Violence and Abuse (HERA) programme.

The HERA Programme was an international collaboration, involving research partners in the UK, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Palestine, which aimed to strengthen the healthcare system response to DVAW, in order to ultimately ensure better outcomes for women and children.

The researchers explored before and aftereffects using difference-in-difference techniques in a quasi-experimental design, using observational data. HERA intervention in Brazil was implemented in eight PHC clinics, while 33 served as controls. Data on DVAW identification and referral were obtained from the national Epidemiological Surveillance System.

Results indicated that the HERA implementation strategies were effective in increasing identification and referral of women who experienced violence and presented at primary care clinics. By prioritising the needs and experiences of women, under a gender and human rights perspective, the strategies may also have enhanced the quality of interactions between healthcare providers and patients.

To the research team’s knowledge, this is the first Brazilian study using a quasi-experimental design to evaluate a system-level set of implementation strategies to DVAW. It provides compelling evidence for the effectiveness of culturally tailored strategies aimed at improving the response of PHC settings to DVAW. The findings reveal significant improvements in both identification and referral rates. The evidence not only underscores the intervention’s potential but offers a valuable framework for policymakers and healthcare providers seeking to implement effective strategies in similar contexts, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.

To download: Healthcare responding to violence and abuse in Brazil: a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences analysis – ScienceDirect

To cite: Estela Capelas Barbosa, Stephanie Pereira, Loraine J. Bacchus, Manuela Colombini, Gene Feder, Lilia Blima Schraiber, Ana Flávia Pires Lucas d’Oliveira, Healthcare responding to violence and abuse in Brazil: a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences analysis, The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, Volume 47, 2025, 101114, ISSN 2667-193X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2025.101114.

For further information, please contact Estela at e.capelasbarbosa@bristol.ac.uk

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The impact of parental intimate partner abuse on young adult relationships

Intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) has the potential to be physically and psychologically damaging across generations. Childhood exposure to IPVA may place young people at greater risk of IPVA within their own relationships. It is estimated that a quarter of UK adults have grown up in a household where parental IPVA has taken place.

The research team, including VISION Director Professor Gene Feder and led by Dr Annie Herbert (University of Bristol), aimed to provide estimates for the relationship between IPVA among mothers, and IPVA in their children’s own relationships as young adults.

They studied the intergenerational effects of prospectively-reported IPVA in a UK general population birth cohort and examined effects according to different subtypes of maternal IPVA victimisation (psychological [and to an extent, controlling behaviours], and physical) and young adult IPVA victimisation and perpetration (psychological [including controlling behaviours], physical, and sexual). This is the first prospective longitudinal study on intergenerational effects of IPVA in the UK.

The researchers found a modest association between maternal IPVA (partner-to-mother victimisation) and IPVA victimisation among their children as young adult women, and between maternal IPVA and IPVA perpetration in young adult men.  After adjusting for potential confounding factors, the association for victimisation among women lessened, but a weak positive association for perpetration among young men remained. This finding was consistent with some previous reviews of studies on intergenerational effects of IPVA. The strongest association was for perpetration by men growing up around physical IPVA victimisation.

The findings showed that maternal IPVA victimisation is responsible for up to 10% of cases of IPVA in young adult relationships, largely concentrated amongst young people who experienced complex adversity including child maltreatment. Services supporting domestic violence cases in families should consider wider trauma, including history of child maltreatment.

To download: The impact of parental intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) on young adult relationships: a UK general population cohort study – The Lancet Regional Health – Europe

To cite: The impact of parental intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) on young adult relationships: a UK general population cohort study. Herbert, Annie et al. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, Volume 0, Issue 0, 101278

For further information, please contact Annie at annie.herbert@bristol.ac.uk

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Researching the impact of Black and Asian women leadership within East of England domestic abuse services

The East of England is a region with minimal presence of ‘by and for’ (BFR) domestic abuse (DA) specialist services despite being home to Black and Asian communities. A VISION-funded research project, ‘Nothing about us without us’: Investigating the impact of the leadership of ethnic minority women on domestic abuse service provision in East England’, is exploring the impact of the leadership of Black and Asian women within DA service provision in the region.

As part of the work, researchers Dr Mirna Guha (Anglia Ruskin University) and Dr Katherine Allen (University of Suffolk), hosted a leadership event on 3 April 2025 for racially and culturally diverse women. Held at a venue provided by the City of London police, the event was part of a leadership programme implemented through the HUM (‘Us) : A Place-based Emerging-Leaders Model designed and piloted by Mirna and Katherine to diversify leadership in domestic abuse and sexual violence services. Research aims include ensuring culturally responsive and representative support for minoritised victims-survivors in East England.

Prior to the April event, Mirna and Katherine researched the leadership needs of 19 overstretched frontline practitioners i.e. ‘emerging leaders’ from racialised communities working within White-majority and at times professionally isolating generalist services across Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. East England is home to scattered racialised and diasporic communities where women’s leadership in local politics and policymaking is low. Based on this, three events on trauma-informed, culturally responsive and diverse styles of leadership have been co-produced with national DASV experts. Participants were invited to also join a regionally pioneering Community of Practice (CoP).

At the April event in London, 15 emerging leaders from racialised backgrounds gained insights into the strategies, opportunities and challenges of practising culturally and racially representative leadership through an inspiring keynote by Superintendent Jasvinder Kaur, Domestic Abuse Lead at Suffolk Constabulary and co-founder of the National Women of Colour in Policing network. Furthermore, nine Black and racialised women speakers associated with statutory institutions viz. Cambridge City Council and the National Police Chief’s Council.

Voluntary organisations also spoke including Apna Haq in Rotherham, Asian Women’s Resource Centre in London, and Karim Foundation in Cambridge. Others also shared their experiences of navigating rural and predominantly White spaces, and their strategies for claiming space, giving voice to community members and creating opportunities for other culturally and racially diverse women leaders. One notable theme was the pathbreaking role each panellist had assumed during her career, opening (or at times creating) doors for herself and those who followed. Discussions across the day dwelled on temporality and the changing political landscapes as well as place-based challenges linked to rurality.

Overall, the leadership model, including this event and others and the growing leadership CoP, with a current membership of 25 emerging women leaders, aims to address these contextual and temporal challenges by bolstering and diversifying racialised women’s leadership in public services to ensure equity for minoritised victims-survivors.

By laying the groundwork for a regional advisory board through the CoP, the model challenges the epistemic erasure of racially and culturally minoritised women within the design of DASV, and broadly, public services which exacerbate the postcode lottery of services across England and Wales. Inspired by Pawson and Tilley’s (1997)[1] approach to realist evaluation (which seeks to understand what works for whom and in which circumstances) Mirna and Katherine aim to evaluate the impact of the leadership programme and CoP on how emerging leaders navigate specific challenges rooted in specific professional, relational and spatial contexts.

[1] Pawson, R. and Tilley, N., 1997. Realistic evaluation.

For further information, please contact Mirna at mirna.guha@aru.ac.uk

Photograph courtesy of Dr Mirna Guha and Dr Katherine Allen.

Physical health conditions and intimate partner violence: A gendered issue

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread global public health issue with serious and long-lasting consequences. While much research has focused on the mental health consequences of IPV, such as depression and PTSD, there is limited evidence on its association with physical health.

This study explored how different types and number of types of IPV are linked to specific physical health conditions, and whether these associations differ between men and women. VISION researchers Dr Ladan Hashemi, Dr Anastasia Fadeeva and Professor Sally McManus, with Nadia Khan, City St George’s UoL, examined this using data from the 2014 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey.

Key findings include:

  • Women were more likely to experience IPV and a higher number of IPV types than men.
  • Women’s experience of lifetime and 12-month IPV were significantly associated with 12 and 11 different physical health conditions, respectively, while men’s experience of lifetime and 12-month IPV were significantly associated with 4 and 1 conditions, respectively.
  • Different types of IPV types were associated with different types of physical health condition, particularly among women.
  • A cumulative association between experiencing a greater number of IPV types and an increased risk of physical health conditions was evident for women but not for men.

The research concludes that IPV is a gendered issue, with stronger associations between IPV and physical health evident in this data for women than for men. This may be because women are more likely to experience more and multiple types of IPV, more frequently, and more often with injury. Healthcare systems must recognise IPV as a priority issue, ensuring support is tailored to those affected.

Recommendation

  • Healthcare systems need to address IPV as a priority health issue for the female population. Gender-informed approaches in IPV intervention strategies and healthcare provision are required. This means emphasising the development of IPV-responsive healthcare systems and comprehensive IPV curricula in medical and health training.

To download the paper: Intimate partner violence and physical health in England: Gender stratified analyses of a probability sample survey – Ladan Hashemi, Anastasia Fadeeva, Nadia Khan, Sally McManus, 2025

To cite: Hashemi L, Fadeeva A, Khan N, McManus S. Intimate partner violence and physical health in England: Gender stratified analyses of a probability sample survey. Women’s Health. 2025;21. doi:10.1177/17455057251326419

For further information, please contact Ladan at ladan.hashemi@citystgeorges.ac.uk

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