Up to one-third of all family violence victims that come into contact with Canberra Hospital are women who are pregnant or have recently given birth, according to the head of social services.
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While the hospital does not collect detailed data on family violence cases, social work manager Madeline Clark said on average about 20 patients a month were being identified as suffering from family violence on some level, with about one-third of those being pregnant or women who have recently given birth. While there have been some male family violence victims identified over the years, the overwhelming majority were women.
"It's more pregnancy but there is research that shows that these women appear to be at more risk, more vulnerable," Ms Clark said.
She said while pregnant women were more likely to be identified than other women suffering violence because they were already in contact with the health system, they were still being injured at a high rate.
"They are more vulnerable for a range of reasons but they are definitely more vulnerable at that time," Ms Clark said. "There is probably a whole host of concurrent factors. For example there can be additional financial stress or other life changes that pregnancy brings, there are increased pressures at that time."
Canberra woman Tara Costigan was killed in March one week after giving birth to her third child. Ms Costigan had sought court protection from her alleged murderer and ex-partner Marcus Rappel one day before her death.
The first national study of Australian women suffering family violence found nearly one-quarter of women who had ever been married or in defacto relationships had experienced violence, with 42 per cent of those victims experiencing violence while pregnant. According the Australian Bureau of Statistics study, half of all sufferers said the violence had happened for the first time while they were pregnant.
Ms Clark said while life-threatening injuries were rare, women were presenting with a wide range of injuries from family violence, including significant anxiety and psychological damage, with some turning to sleeping pills or abusing other substances as a result.
"They can be people coming in unable to sleep, or with gastric issues, all symptoms associated with stress. It can also be people using substances to get some relief from the situation they are in."
Health authorities were getting better at identifying women at risk or suffering violence because they were asking more often, and for many of the victims it was a relief to be able to share their experiences.
"It's interesting that if asked, people who are victims are often very keen to share that, it's a huge relief to say, 'this is the situation I'm in and there is some help available to help change that situation'," Ms Clark said.
While it took some victims time to seek help or protection, many were keen to unload and make changes.
"So asking can be the first step and that's a really important message to get out there, it's important to check if there's something that's making people fearful," Ms Clark said.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
