In short:
Two women who endured decades of partner violence have been diagnosed with the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
They are the first cases of CTE in domestic violence victims in Australia, and two of only a handful globally. CTE has mostly been found in male contact sports players who suffered repetitive head injury.
What’s next?
Experts say the discovery highlights the potential harms of long-term brain trauma and underscores the importance of screening DV victims for CTE at autopsy.
The women, aged in their 30s and 40s, died from blunt force injuries and impact trauma — one in an alleged assault and the other after being struck by a car.
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The pathologists examined their brains after reviewing their clinical records and learning they had at least 70 assault-related medical presentations and 35 documented head injuries related to partner violence between them.
One was found to have stage I CTE and the other stage II, the earliest, mildest forms of the disease.
Its symptoms can include memory loss and confusion, poor impulse control, severe depression and suicidality, though some people seemingly show no signs of illness at all. It can only be diagnosed post-mortem.
Perhaps it might be a good idea to take action before autopsy is required? Also the cause of arthritis in women is frequently criminal assault at home and other forms of domestic violence at an earlier age. Plus what about concern about men playing in women’s sport – there’s rightly concern about men’s violence against men in sport, what about men’s violence against women in women’s sport.