Empowering victim-survivors of intimate partner violence through physical activity

It’s estimated that about one in three women in Australia will experience some kind of intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime. Victim-survivors of IPV typically have high rates of mental ill-health, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

PhD student Thea Baker is drawing on both her own lived experience and her work as a clinical counsellor and psychotherapist to develop a trauma-informed cardio boxing program for victim-survivors of intimate partner violence.  

Ms Baker was working as a women’s health coach when she observed that clients who had experienced trauma often responded differently to cardio boxing classes than more holistic movement practices, such as yoga. She decided it was something she wanted to explore further through a PhD.  

As part of her project, she has undertaken a review of studies that explored other kinds of moderate-vigorous physical activity to identify features that lead to positive mental health outcomes for victim-survivors.   

“There is a lot of evidence to show that physical activity can play an important role for both our physical and mental health generally, and potentially exercise is more accessible for people than other forms of therapy,” she said. 

“It’s not one-size-fits-all. Some victim-survivors might gain more from a highly charged, energised activity, such as cardio boxing, than from a more passive approach,” she said. 

Ms Baker is speaking with victim-survivors to understand their needs and consider other factors, separate to the exercise part of the program, to ensure they feel safe and supported. Interviews with professionals such as social workers and psychologists will inform how a cardio-boxing program can fit into existing support pathways.  

“With insights from victim-survivors and professionals, we will design a cardio-boxing program and run it for women who have a lived experience of IPV to understand its impact on mental health and wellbeing and how we can improve it in the future,” Ms Baker said. 

“The program will help clarify what trauma-informed exercise practice might look like, which has implications for other settings, such as gyms, group exercise and sporting clubs,” she said. 

She hopes the program will improve mental health (depression, anxiety, PTSD symptoms) and wellbeing (empowerment and resilience), as well as the physical health of victim survivors.  

If successful, Ms Baker aims to expand the program beyond research to support more survivors in the real world. 

If you are a victim-survivor of IPV and would find support helpful right now, reach out to 1800 RESPECT (https://www.1800respect.org.au/) or The Blue Knot Foundation (https://blueknot.org.au/).