The Daily

Over 30% of patients who seek assistance from  psychiatrists are or have been victims of family violence. However, these vulnerable individuals may be unrecognised with new studies showing 44% of professionals felt less comfortable discussing current family violence with their patients. In many cases, distressed patients may feel too embarrassed to bring up the topic and reports or referrals may never take place. So, what actions need to take place? And how can we ensure victims of family violence do not go unrecognised?  To answer our questions, we spoke to Dr Manjula O’Connor, Honorary Senior Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and Chair of the College of Psychiatrists Family Violence Psychiatry Network.