The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on intimate partner violence and mental health : advancing mental health services, research, and policy

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common form of violence worldwide and contributes significantly to the global burden of mental health problems. The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health met to consider progress in reducing IPV and its associated mental health harms (see panel 1), and to establish a roadmap for strengthening responses across mental health research, services, and policy. Mental health care is delivered predominantly through primary care globally, but to date the relationship between IPV and severe mental health problems, and how to address IPV within secondary mental health care, has been relatively neglected. We therefore focus mainly on the changes needed to address IPV within secondary mental health care. Our focus on mental health is pragmatic rather than exclusionary: we also recognise the need for broader change across multiple disciplines, systems, and institutions