Four out of every 10 Irish women who have had a sexual relationship have experienced domestic violence, according to one of the largest studies into violent behaviour in the home ever carried out.
The report, which is published in the British Medical Journal today has, for the first time, shown a link between a partner's controlling behaviour and the likelihood of a woman suffering domestic violence.
Researchers at the department of general practice and community health, Trinity College Dublin, questioned 1,692 women attending 22 general practices in the Republic.
They found that of the 650 women who experienced violent behaviour, a third had suffered eight or more types of violence. The most common violent acts were a partner "punching or kicking the walls or furniture", "shouting at or threatening the children" and having been "pushed, grabbed or shoved".
More serious violent incidents were reported by 10 per cent of women, including being punched or kicked on the face, body, arms or legs. Nine per cent of women were choked by their partners. One hundred and fifty women in the study said they had been forced to have sex.
A big majority - 70 per cent - of the women studied reported controlling behaviour by their partners. There was a strong association between controlling behaviour and the likelihood of women experiencing violence. If a woman was afraid of her partner, this factor was also associated with the likelihood of violent behaviour.
The authors identified a number of key controlling behaviours as risk factors.
These include restricting a woman's social life, checking on her movements, threatening his partner or their children and keeping her short of money, all of which were reported by between 20 and 30 per cent of women. Personal criticism and being shouted at was a frequent occurrence for 11 per cent of those surveyed.
Commenting on the results, one of the authors, Prof Tom O'Dowd, said the research has helped to quantify the size of the problem in an Irish setting. "Significantly, and for the first time ever, it allows women to predict when they are at risk of violence in a domestic relationship," he said.
The lead researcher, Dr Fiona Bradley, said that "for general practitioners asking women about fear of their partner and controlling behaviour may be an effective way of identifying those who are experiencing domestic violence".Almost 80 per cent of the women studied said that it would be acceptable for a doctor they trusted to ask about violence in relationships.
At 40 per cent the number of women experiencing domestic violence is significantly higher than previous studies which had suggested a prevalence of 25 per cent. The authors say this suggests that such women are frequent attenders in general practice.
Women eligible for medical cards - the poorest in the community - were twice as likely to report domestic violence. This raises the possibility that such women, as frequent attenders, are experiencing more severe forms of domestic violence resulting in greater adverse health effects.
Prof O'Dowd told The Irish Times that "the missing part of the equation is to look at the long-term effects of domestic violence on the women who are abused and also in the men who are abusers".