One in three women assaulted by partner

A third of New Zealand women are shoved, kicked, beaten or sexually assaulted by their partner during their life, a study has found.

The Auckland University research, published in today's New Zealand Medical Journal, found women who had been assaulted were twice as likely to seek medical help for ill health and 2.5 times more likely to suffer emotional distress and suicidal thoughts.

The research was part of a World Health Organisation study involving interviews with 30,000 women from 10 countries.

Principal researcher Dr Janet Fanslow, of the university's School of Population Health, said the most worrying aspect was that intimate partner violence, even if it was in the past, was significantly associated with present physical and mental health problems, including depression, sleep problems and suicide attempts.

Interviews with 2855 women aged 18 to 64 found 33 per cent in Auckland and 39 per cent in Waikato had experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner.

About 5 per cent reported being assaulted within the previous 12 months.

Women who experienced moderate or severe physical violence (kicked, choked or burned on purpose) were more likely to suffer sexual violence, such as being forced to have sex.

Janet Lake, spokeswoman for the National Collective of Independent Women's Refuges, said the results were alarming, but not surprising.

Every year the number of women and children using refuges increased, she said. There were now young women using safe houses who had gone as children with their mothers.

Brian Garner, manager of the National Network of Stopping Violence Services, said men should be ashamed by the findings.

"As a man in New Zealand I feel sad and ashamed that so many men are beating, abusing and killing their partners. That's not how to care for those close to us."

A separate study, also published in the latest journal, found that a fifth of women treated at emergency departments at Auckland and Middlemore hospitals said they had been victims of partner abuse or had felt unsafe in the past year.

The research, led by Associate Professor Jane Koziol-McLain of the Auckland University of Technology's faculty of health and environmental sciences, found 44 per cent reported partner violence at some time in their life.

Dr Fanslow said victims of domestic violence were twice as likely to have visited a healthcare provider in the previous month.

GPs needed to be aware that victims could suffer a range of health problems, not just physical injuries.