Are Nurses Adequately Equipped to Respond to People Affected by Family Violence?

Keywords

family violence, intimate partner violence, patient care, nursing, patient safety, trauma informed care, nursing education, nursing research

Abstract

Family violence is one of the most pervasive and devastating forms of violence worldwide. It affects individuals across the lifespan, occurring in relationships between intimate partners, parents and children, adult children and older relatives and other family members. Although often occurring within private settings, its consequences extend far beyond the home, contributing to injury, disability, chronic illness, psychological trauma, homelessness, intergenerational disadvantage and premature death.

Despite decades of public awareness campaigns, legislative reform and investment in prevention and support services, family violence remains an enduring feature of contemporary society. Fatal assaults involving current or former intimate partners and other family members continue to attract public attention with disturbing regularity, reminding us that family violence is not an isolated phenomenon but a persistent societal problem. For every family homicide that attracts media attention, many more individuals continue to experience physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, or financial abuse that remains unseen by the broader community.

People experiencing family violence often present to health services with acute injuries, chronic health conditions, reproductive and mental health problems, substance use, and a wide range of psychosocial difficulties that may be directly or indirectly related to abuse. For many individuals, healthcare settings provide one of the few opportunities for disclosure and intervention. Consequently, nurses need to be able to identify family violence, respond appropriately, and facilitate access to support services.

However, responding to family violence is not straightforward. Nurses have long identified barriers including limited knowledge, lack of confidence, time pressures, organisational constraints, personal experiences of family violence, and misconceptions about abuse, all of which may influence their capacity to respond effectively (Wilson and Jackson 2025). These persistent challenges underscore the importance of examining whether healthcare systems have adequately prepared and supported nurses for this complex aspect of practice.

In this editorial, we consider whether healthcare systems adequately prepare and support nurses to respond to family violence. We argue that responding effectively to family violence requires more than individual knowledge, skill, and compassion. It also depends on education, organisational support, clinical resources, and interdisciplinary systems that enable nurses to recognise family violence, respond appropriately, and connect those affected with the support they need. International policy continues to position the healthcare sector as a key setting for identifying and responding to family violence (WHO 2025). However, questions remain as to whether educational provision and organisational infrastructure have evolved sufficiently to enable this work to be undertaken safely and effectively.

Original Publication Citation

Jackson, D., Bond, C., & Watson, A. (2026). Are Nurses Adequately Equipped to Respond to People Affected by Family Violence? Journal of Advanced Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.70742

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2026-08-26

Publisher

Journal of Advanced Nursing; Wiley

Language

English

College

Nursing

Department

Nursing

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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