Measuring the burden of interpersonal violence victimisation in Western AustraliaTrends and issues in crime and criminal justice

Overview: This paper describes a Western Australian study investigating the prevalence and cost to society of mental illness in victims hospitalised due to interpersonal violence.

Methods: The population based and retrospective study utilised linked data from the Western Australian Mortality Database, the Hospital Morbidity Data System and the Western Australian Mental Health Information System from 1990 to 2004. The paper describes the statistical and economic analyses that were carried out, and the results are presented in textual and tabular form. The results and implications are discussed and directions for future research and policy development outlined.

Findings: The study found groups at risk of interpersonal violence include young people (between 20 and 29 years of age) and Indigenous women. Indigenous people were over represented in hospital admissions. One in four hospital admissions for interpersonal violence also had a hospital admission for a mental illness. Interpersonal violence was found to bring a considerable cost to the health system. The mean costs for Indigenous people and young women who were victims of violence were significantly higher than the mean costs per hospital admission, suggesting that these groups were at a particularly high risk of more severe injury or do not have access to adequate health care services.