Research Fellow, Child and Community Wellbeing Unit, Centre for Health Equity, University of Melbourne, Australia
Lisa Gibbs
Director, Child and Community Wellbeing Unit, Centre for Health Equity, University of Melbourne; and Academic Lead, Community Resilience & Public Health, Centre for Disaster Management and Public Safety, University of Melbourne, Australia
Scientia Professor and NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Australia
Cathy Humphreys
Professor of Social Work, Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne, Australia
Kelsey Hegarty
Professor, Centre for Family Violence Prevention, Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne and The Royal Women's Hospital, Australia
Connie Kellett
Family Violence Principal Practitioner, Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne; and Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety, Australia
H. Colin Gallagher
Postdoctoral Researcher, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Faculty of Business and Law, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Karen Block
Associate Director, Child and Community Wellbeing Unit, Centre for Health Equity, University of Melbourne, Australia
Louise Harms
Chair and Head, Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne, Australia
John F. Richardson
National Resilience Adviser, Emergency Services, Australian Red Cross, Melbourne, Australia
Nathan Alkemade
Phoenix Australia: Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne; and Senior Clinical Psychologist, Monash Health, Australia
David Forbes
Director, Phoenix Australia: Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Australia
BackgroundDisasters pose a documented risk to mental health, with a range of peri- and post-disaster factors (both pre-existing and disaster-precipitated) linked to adverse outcomes. Among these, increasing empirical attention is being paid to the relation between disasters and violence.AimsThis study examined self-reported experiences of assault or violence victimisation among communities affected by high, medium, and low disaster severity following the 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia. The association between violence, mental health outcomes and alcohol misuse was also investigated.MethodParticipants were 1016 adults from high-, medium- and low-affected communities, 3–4 years after an Australian bushfire disaster. Rates of reported violence were compared by areas of bushfire-affectedness. Logistic regression models were applied separately to men and women to assess the experience of violence in predicting general and fire-related post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and alcohol misuse.ResultsReports of experiencing violence were significantly higher among high bushfire-affected compared with low bushfire-affected regions. Analyses indicated the significant relationship between disaster-affectedness and violence was observed for women only, with rates of 1.0, 0 and 7.4% in low, medium and high bushfire-affected areas, respectively. Among women living in high bushfire-affected areas, negative change to income was associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing violence (odds ratio, 4.68). For women, post-disaster violence was associated with more severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms.ConclusionsWomen residing within high bushfire-affected communities experienced the highest levels of violence. These post-disaster experiences of violence are associated with post-disaster changes to income and with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms among women. These findings have critical implications for the assessment of, and interventions for, women experiencing or at risk of violence post-disaster.
