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Family violence and mental health are pervasive and wicked problems, and the state of Victoria (Australia) has emphasised these areas of focus through two dedicated Royal Commissions. Despite the increased prioritisation of mental health and family violence and recognition of existing systems and policy failures, research into the overlap of these two areas remains limited. This article examines the unique and elevated risk factors of mental health consumers experiencing coercive control and poor system experiences/intervention outcomes as victim-survivors. Utilising lived experience accounts from the Royal Commission into Family Violence and the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System, this study qualitatively analyses 60 submissions and draws compelling parallels between consumer and victim-survivor experiences, and examines how they intersect at critical junctures to exacerbate risk. The findings suggest that mental health consumers have existing experiences and identity aspects that put them at high risk of being targeted by coercive control and experiencing unique tactics of abuse related to their mental health diagnoses. This article highlights that lived experience expertise is essential for bridging the gap in policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on data from a prospective pregnancy cohort (N = 1,507), this study examines the relationship between exposure to physical and emotional intimate partner violence (IPV) across the first 10 years of motherhood and women's mental and physical health. A measure of IPV (Composite Abuse Scale) was included at 1, 4, and 10 years postpartum. Past year and prior experiences of IPV were associated with mental and physical health issues at 10 years, both for mothers who had experienced combined IPV and emotional IPV alone. Awareness of the health issues associated with different types of IPV can assist in tailoring responses for women who experience IPV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]