Intimate partner violence and homicide during the shadow pandemic: What has mental health nursing got to do with it?

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a persistent global public health issue that affects millions of people. Though men can be affected, IPV disproportionately affects women. IPV is the type of violence that usually occurs at home, behind closed doors and the element of privacy places targets at high risk. Women are particularly vulnerable to violence from their partner during pregnancy and in the post-partum period (Sánchez et al.2022), and younger women are even more so (Woollett et al. 2022). Women often find it difficult to leave relationships despite the abuse, because of a range of factors such as financial dependence, a wish to keep the family together, coercion and control by the offender, fear, isolation, social and family pressure and low self-esteem (Lacanaria & David 2018). In addition to isolation and lack of support to leave, there can also be strong and persistent feelings of love and care for the partner, who may not always be abusive (Wilson et al. 2019).