The scars left by the trauma of domestic violence are devastating for the women who are its victims since they have a 44% additional risk of death.
One in three women are victims of domestic violence worldwide, according to the WHO. In France, a woman is killed by her spouse or ex-spouse every two days according to a rigorous census carried out by a group of volunteers. A British study reveals that those who are victims of domestic violence have a mortality risk that increases by 44%. These results were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
A degraded life after the violence
Women who are victims of domestic violence are more prone to developing illnesses, increasing the risk of death. According to the study, they have a 31% increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and 51% of having type 2 diabetes. To achieve these results, the researchers compared the medical records, between 1995 and 2017, of 18 547 women victims of domestic violence, to those of 72,231 women who have not suffered.
The link between the development of these diseases and the violence suffered has not been clearly established by the researchers. The latter, however, put forward avenues, in particular the acute and chronic stress caused by the trauma of past violence. The degraded lifestyle after this violence is also highlighted, where poor diet, alcohol and tobacco are more frequent among these women. In addition, the psychology of the victims is turned upside down and is characterized by a loss of self-esteem, the use of psychoactive drugs and sleep disorders. Determining the other factors that lead to increased mortality among female victims of intimate partner violence is the next step for researchers.
A new law to combat domestic violence
At the end of January, the law to combat domestic violence was adopted unanimously by the National Assembly. This provides in particular for the recognition of the concept of influence in the Civil Code, the forfeiture of parental rights for parents who have murdered their spouse or even the opening twenty-four hours a day of 3919, number of listening for the victims. It also provides for the lifting of medical secrecy when “the adult victim is in immediate danger and is under the control of the perpetrator.”
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