Martin co-authors chapter on violence against women

Dr. Sandy Martin

Angela Parcesepe

Sandra Martin, PhD, professor of maternal and child health and associate dean for research at Gillings School of Global Public Health, and Angela Parcesepe, maternal and child health doctoral candidate at the School, are authors of a chapter in the new book Violence Against Women and Mental Health, volume 178 of the book series, Key Issues in Mental Health (edited by A. Riecher-Rossler and N. Sartorius), published Feb. 7 by S. Karger Publishers.

The chapter, “Sexual Assault and Women’s Mental Health,” reviews research showing that violence perpetrated upon women by intimate partners poses multiple health risks to women (including injuries and sexually transmitted infections) and mental health problems (such as substance use disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression).

“Sexual assault of women is a common problem all around the globe,” Martin said. “Although many sexual assault survivors never receive treatment after the assault due to embarrassment or shame, the good news is that women who do seek treatment and receive brief cognitive behavior therapy recover considerably from the emotional trauma of this violence.”

A comprehensive overview, the book covers current evidence of the links between violence against women and mental health and the implications of these findings for mental health policies and programs.

Note: Martin and Parcesepe are available to collaborate with students on projects related to violence against women. They are reachable by email, respectively, at sandra_martin@unc.edu and parcesep@email.unc.edu.