By Michelle Chen
According to an analysis by Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), roughly four in ten IPV survivors (which includes physical and sexual abuse as well as stalking) experience physical injury as a result of their abuse. Of those, fewer than 30 percent seek some kind of medical treatment, and about the same proportion seek mental healthcare. Even still, though exact monetary values cannot be assessed, medical treatment for victims of a rape by an intimate partner was over $3,300 on average “per incident,” adjusted for inflation, and more than $1,500 in mental health treatment, according to IWPR’s overview of IPV research since the 1990s. Surveys of stalking victims showed they faced an estimated $1,100 in mental healthcare costs, and about one eighth had to pay an additional $1,000 or more in personal funds following the abuse, as they dealt with childcare arrangements, lawyers, moving expenses, and other basic recovery needs.
