An Australian-first study has strengthened evidence that intimate partner violence can cause lasting brain injuries, leading to memory loss, learning changes and other long-term cognitive problems.
A Monash University study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma found that survivors of domestic violence who experienced repeated head impacts or non-fatal strangulation were more likely to show behavioural and cognitive changes, including impaired memory.
The impact of brain injuries has become widely recognised in professional sport, where repeated concussions have been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other neurodegenerative conditions. Guardian Australia has extensively reported on concussion in sport, coverage that contributed to a Senate inquiry and an AFL class action.
Researchers and advocates said the study highlights a need for greater awareness of brain injury when screening and supporting survivors of intimate partner violence, so they can receive appropriate treatment.
Georgia Symons, a Monash University neuroscientist and senior author of the study, said the research compared women who had experienced unsafe relationships with those who had not, and found notable similarities to the brain trauma seen in athletes.
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“Essentially, what we found is that those with six or more brain injuries, head impacts or non-fatal strangulation had worse learning and memory outcomes than those who hadn’t experienced brain injuries from intimate partner violence,” Symons said.
“While we didn’t directly study or compare to the injuries experienced by athletes, and brain injuries in this setting are unique, the changes we found have previously been seen as a result of sports concussions.”
While many participants did not meet the clinical threshold for impairment, she said they still showed significant difficulties.
“They struggled with memory loss, learning difficulties and cognitive function compared to the other cohort,” she said.
The study found that 84.2% of participants who had experienced brain injury in the context of intimate partner violence had suffered both non-fatal strangulation and a mild traumatic brain injury or concussion.
A 2018 study found that 40% of family violence victims presenting to Victorian hospitals over a 10-year period had experienced a brain injury, though researchers warned the figure was likely higher because many survivors do not seek medical care.
In 2024, two Australian women who had endured years of partner abuse were diagnosed with CTE – the first cases in the country linked to domestic violence.
Reidar Lystad, a research fellow at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation who has studied sports concussions, said domestic violence survivors were a major group at risk, alongside athletes and military veterans.
“Literature from the sports field tells us that the cumulative impact of repeated trauma is associated with long-term health consequences like neurodegenerative diseases,” Lystad said.
“There’s an increased risk of not just chronic traumatic encephalopathy, but also other forms of dementia.”
Lystad said there were growing concerns that the threshold for long-term brain damage may be lower than previously thought, but remains difficult to measure.
“If domestic violence is being perpetrated over time, that becomes an increased risk for the development of neurodegenerative disease,” he said.
“For those patients, referral to specialists with expertise in brain injury is critical. It’s not an issue that’s unique to the sporting population any more.”
Phillip Ripper, chief executive of violence prevention organisation No To Violence, said women subjected to repeated concussions and strangulation through family violence were far less likely to be identified, diagnosed or supported than athletes, despite often experiencing more severe and repeated trauma.
“There is an enormous gap in awareness and understanding of the severe, often lifelong impacts these injuries have on victim-survivors’ memory, cognition, wellbeing and capacity to rebuild their lives,” Ripper said.
“Non-fatal strangulation in particular must be recognised as a critical warning sign.”
Ripper said these injuries were preventable if violence was stopped at its source.
“Preventing these devastating harms requires governments and communities to act decisively – identifying men’s use of violence earlier, responding consistently, and holding men accountable before patterns of coercive control escalate into repeated brain injury and life-threatening harm.”
In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
