Publications by authors named "Laura Tarzia"

Article Synopsis
  • Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) refers to non-consensual sexual acts occurring within intimate relationships, mostly perpetrated by men against women, leading to significant harm for victims.
  • Current measurement tools for IPSV have been inadequate in capturing the variety of perpetrator tactics and their intentions, resulting in a lack of solid data on the issue.
  • The article introduces the Intimate Partner Sexual Violence Scale (IPSVS), a new tool based on data from 702 women in Australia that identifies three key categories of IPSV behaviors, improving the understanding and measurement of this serious problem.
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Men's use of domestic violence is a major public health issue globally. However, the potential for technology to address this issue has been limited within research and practice. This study aimed to test the feasibility and acceptability of an online healthy relationship tool (BETTER MAN) for men who have used domestic violence to encourage help-seeking.

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A partner's reproductive coercion and abuse (RCA) can significantly undermine women's physical health and psychological wellbeing. Yet little research has explored how RCA affects experiences of mothering and relationships with children. Based on an analysis of interviews with 30 Australian mothers, we found that RCA affected mothering in complex ways.

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Research suggests that many international students experience intimate partner violence (IPV) or sexual violence (SV) whilst attending tertiary institutions. Yet, little is known about how they engage in help-seeking and what types of support they need following IPV/SV. In this paper, we present findings from a qualitative analysis of 30 in-depth interviews with international student women who experienced SV/IPV while studying in Australia.

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Reproductive coercion and abuse is a hidden and poorly recognised form of violence against women. It refers broadly to behaviours that interfere with or undermine a person's reproductive autonomy, specifically to promote or prevent pregnancy. Reproductive coercion and abuse can involve physical, sexual, financial or psychological abuse in order to achieve these aims, and is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women.

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Worldwide, sexual violence is a significant public health issue. Although any person can be victimized, the vast majority of sexual violence is perpetrated by men against women. Research has increasingly explored the experiences of victims, however, the perspectives of male perpetrators of sexual violence have largely been sidelined.

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Background: Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is a prevalent but misunderstood form of gender-based violence with significant impacts women's health and well-being. Research suggests that IPSV has a specific context and unique impacts, but little is known about how to tailor service responses. To address this gap, we explored help-seeking experiences and needs among IPSV survivors after disclosure.

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Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is common globally, but there is a lack of research on how to intervene early with men who might be using IPV. Building on evidence supporting the benefits of online interventions for women victim/survivors, this study aims to test whether a healthy relationship website (BETTER MAN) is effective at improving men's help seeking, their recognition of behaviours as IPV and their readiness to change their behaviours.

Methods/design: In this two-group, pragmatic randomised controlled trial, men aged 18-50 years residing in Australia who have been in an adult intimate relationship (female, male or non-binary partner) in the past 12 months are eligible.

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Background: Exposure to rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse has lifelong impacts for mental health and well-being. Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) are among the most common interventions offered to survivors to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological impacts. Beyond such trauma-focused cognitive and behavioural approaches, there is a range of low-intensity interventions along with new and emerging non-exposure based approaches (trauma-sensitive yoga, Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories and Lifespan Integration).

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In Australia, at least one in every five women has experienced sexual violence since age 15. Research consistently links sexual violence with poor mental health, persisting long after the crisis period. Trauma-informed mental health support is therefore critical.

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Sexual violence (SV) against women is common in higher education settings, causing serious harm to the health, well-being, and academic outcomes of victim/survivors. There have been numerous systematic reviews of the quantitative evidence on this topic, highlighting the prevalence, health impacts, and barriers and facilitators to help-seeking after SV. To date, however, qualitative research exploring the lived experience of women higher education students has not been synthesized.

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Purpose: Previous research has indicated that university students experienced substantial mental health issues during the global COVID-19 pandemic, but few studies have considered changes relative to pre-pandemic levels across population groups. Hence, the aim of this study was to compare changes in mental health and associated stressors across the pandemic for international and local university students studying in Australia.

Methods: In a cohort of 4407 university students, we assessed depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 2), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2), social support (Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey), inability to afford food, fear of partner, and experiences of discrimination, both pre-pandemic (April-May 2019) and during the pandemic (September-October 2020).

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Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major global issue with huge impacts on individuals, families, and communities. It is also a gendered problem, with the vast majority of IPV perpetrated by men. To date, interventions have primarily focused on victim/survivors; however, it is increasingly recognized that men's use of violence must also be addressed.

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Background: Universities are increasingly recognised as institutions where health and wellbeing can be promoted to maximise academic outcomes, career transitions, and lifelong positive health behaviours. There is concern about the mental health of university students and other factors which affect academic outcomes particularly for subgroups such as international students. There are few cohort studies of the breadth of issues that can impact on mental health and academic outcomes for both local and international students.

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Background: Reproductive coercion and abuse (RCA) interferes with a person's reproductive autonomy and can be classified into behaviours that are pregnancy promoting or pregnancy preventing (including coerced abortion). However, prevalence data are lacking, and little is known about whether particular forms of RCA are more or less common. The aims of our study were to explore how frequently people seeking pregnancy counselling reported RCA, the proportions reporting the different forms of RCA, and whether there were different trends based on a range of demographic factors.

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Objectives: To explore women's experiences and expectations of intimate partner abuse (IPA) disclosure and identification in healthcare settings, focusing on the process of disclosure/identification rather than the healthcare responses that come afterwards.

Design: Systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies DATA SOURCES: Relevant studies were sourced by using keywords to search the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, SocINDEX and ASSIA in September 2021.

Eligibility Criteria: Studies needed to focus on women's views about IPA disclosure and identification in healthcare settings, use qualitative methods and have been published in the last 5 years.

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Gender-based violence includes intimate partner violence, sexual violence and other harmful acts directed at people based on their gender. It is common in Australia and causes great ill health, especially for women victims/survivors, with Indigenous women particularly affected. Health services are an opportune place for early intervention for victims/survivors of gender-based violence as they attend frequently.

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Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) is a common yet hidden form of violence. It is primarily perpetrated against women by their male partners and is associated with a range of serious mental and physical health outcomes. Despite these harms, it is chronically under-researched.

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Background: Health care practitioners (HCPs) play a critical role in identifying and responding to intimate partner abuse (IPA). Despite this, studies consistently demonstrate a range of barriers that prevent HCPs from effectively identifying and responding to IPA. These barriers can occur at the individual level or at a broader systems or organisational level.

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Background: Healthcare practitioners (HCPs) play a crucial role in recognising, responding to, and supporting female patients experiencing intimate partner abuse (IPA). However, research consistently identifies barriers they perceive prevent them from doing this work effectively. These barriers can be system-based (e.

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Background: Reproductive coercion and abuse is defined as any behaviour that seeks to control a woman's reproductive autonomy. In Australia, women often access reproductive health care through a primary care clinician, however, little is known about clinicians' experiences responding to reproductive coercion and abuse. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the barriers to responding to reproductive coercion and abuse in Australian primary care.

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Background: Reproductive coercion and abuse (RCA) is a hidden form of violence against women. It includes behaviours intended to control or dictate a woman's reproductive autonomy, for the purpose of either preventing or promoting pregnancy.

Main Text: In this commentary, we argue that there is a lack of conceptual clarity around RCA that is a barrier to developing a robust evidence base.

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Reproductive coercion and abuse is defined as behaviour that deliberately interferes with a person's reproductive autonomy. It is typically perpetrated by men against women in a context of fear and control and includes forcing a woman to become pregnant or to terminate a pregnancy. There is a dearth of qualitative research investigating experiences of reproductive coercion and abuse, particularly for women from minority ethnic backgrounds.

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Objective: To identify and synthesise the experiences and expectations of women victim/survivors of intimate partner abuse (IPA) following disclosure to a healthcare provider (HCP).

Methods: The databases MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsychINFO, SocINDEX, ASSIA and the Cochrane Library were searched in February 2020. Included studies needed to focus on women's experiences with and expectations of HCPs after disclosure of IPA.

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