Health & Medicine
Trust betrayed: Attacked from the inside out
Women are exposed to a particularly insidious and damaging trauma when sexually abused by an intimate partner, shattering trust and self-worth
Intimate partner sexual violence
Attacked from the inside
It's estimated that almost one in 10 Australian women has experienced sexual violence at the hands of the person she’s meant to trust most – her intimate partner.
The crime scene may be her own home, her own bed.
Intimate Partner Sexual Violence is little understood, with insidious consequences for the women exposed to it. But thanks to survivors coming forward, research led by the University of Melbourne is now going beyond the silence.
Lead researcher: Associate Professor Laura Tarzia
Contributors: Professor Heather Douglas, Professor Kelsey Hegarty, Mandy McKenzie and Dr Meagan Tyler
Producer: Andrew Trounson
Development: Rafael Gonzalez and Pedro Araujo
CONTENT WARNING: These articles discuss multiple forms of trauma, including sexual violence and assault, abuse and harassment, as well as the effects of this trauma on mental health.
Health & Medicine
When love is blind
We need to better recognise it isn’t easy for a woman to accept the person they have invested their life in, their intimate partner, may be sexually abusing them
Health & Medicine
What a friend experiencing abuse needs most is an ally
Women experiencing intimate partner violence often rely on their friends, but it can be difficult for friends to know how to respond
Health & Medicine
We need to talk about pornography
Research finds that women who’ve experienced intimate partner sexual violence believe pornography plays a role in their abuse
Health & Medicine
What drives Intimate Partner Sexual Violence?
We need to bring together the sometimes unique factors behind Intimate Partner Sexual Violence if we are to better understand and counter it
Politics & Society
Intimate partner sexual violence and the courts
Sexual assault by an intimate partner often goes unreported, and when it is, the legal system is daunting whether a woman is seeking justice or simply protection. We need a better way.