An Australian-first study has identified evidence of previously undetected, long-term memory and learning difficulties among women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). The research, led by Monash University and published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, highlights potential significant cognitive impacts for survivors of repeated head injuries and strangulation in domestic settings.
Study Findings
The peer-reviewed study compared cognitive assessments of 146 women, including healthy controls and a cohort who had experienced partner violence more than six months prior. Researchers focused on women in the community who had no formally diagnosed brain injury.
Key findings indicate that women who experienced more than six suspected brain injuries—defined as concussions and/or strangulations—from a partner demonstrated lower scores on tests measuring memory and learning abilities. This outcome remained statistically significant even after controlling for factors such as age, mental health conditions, and substance use. The study also reported that over 80 percent of the cohort with repeated brain injuries (more than six) had experienced both head impacts and strangulation.
Dr. Georgia Symons, a Monash University neuroscientist and study author, noted that while many participants did not meet clinical thresholds for impairment, they exhibited significant difficulties with memory loss, learning, and cognitive function when compared to the control group.
Brain Injuries in Domestic Settings
Concussion is medically classified as a minor traumatic brain injury, resulting from the brain moving within the skull. Symptoms typically include dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and nausea. More severe brain injuries from significant head trauma can result in ongoing symptoms such as behavioral or cognitive changes, seizures, or slurred speech. Dr. Jennifer Makovec Knight, a clinical neuropsychologist at Alfred Hospital and study author, added that strangulation can cause hypoxic brain injuries, which occur due to reduced blood flow and oxygen, leading to cell death in the brain.
Data regarding the prevalence of brain injuries among those who have experienced family violence remains limited. A 2018 study by Brain Injury Australia indicated that 40 percent of family violence survivors who attended Victorian hospitals over a decade had sustained a brain injury. Researchers suggest this figure might be an underestimate due to underreporting or survivors not seeking medical attention.
The Monash-led study highlighted a disconnect in how brain injuries are identified; while athletes often recall the number of concussions, family violence survivors typically do not report concussions directly but confirm multiple instances of head impacts when asked specific questions such as "have you been hit in the head?" or "have you been pushed into anything and hit your head?"
Context and Implications
The research aligns with observations in professional sports, where recurrent concussions have been associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other neurodegenerative conditions. Dr. Symons observed that survivors of partner violence represent a cohort often overlooked in discussions regarding brain injuries, despite a potentially higher prevalence of such injuries compared to sports athletes. Reidar Lystad, a research fellow specializing in sports concussions at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, identified domestic violence survivors as a significant at-risk group for brain injury, alongside athletes and military veterans. In 2024, two Australian women who had endured years of partner abuse were diagnosed with CTE, marking the first recorded cases in the country linked to domestic violence.
Dr. Makovec Knight clarified that these results do not imply all women experiencing intimate partner violence will develop these difficulties, but highlight potential significant impacts for those who do. Such impacts can hinder efforts to rebuild lives, including returning to education, due to difficulties with concentration.
Professor Karen Barlow, a neurologist at the University of Queensland not involved in the research, affirmed the study's reputability and its contribution to an under-researched topic in Australia. She noted that while the study showed effects in total learning and delayed recall for the affected cohort, their overall cognitive function was largely within normal limits, a distinction she deemed important to prevent perpetrators from using cognitive changes to undermine a survivor's capacity for decision-making or parenting.
Experts involved with the study expressed hope that the findings could prompt tailored screening and treatment protocols for concussion and strangulation-linked brain injuries in women affected by intimate partner violence, noting the current absence of specialized rehabilitation. Tania Farha, outgoing CEO of Safe & Equal, Victoria's peak family violence body, suggested further investment is needed to equip health professionals and family violence workers to screen for brain injuries among women experiencing violence, to mitigate chronic illness and injury resulting from family violence. Phillip Ripper, chief executive of No To Violence, also emphasized that these injuries could be prevented if the violence is stopped, requiring governments and communities to identify earlier instances of violence and address perpetrator behavior.