Imagine trying to flee a dangerous home, tell your story to the police, find safe housing, or get mental health support—only to feel like no one believes you, understands you, or sees you. Now imagine doing all that while living with a brain injury.
That is the reality for many women in the UK who have survived domestic abuse. Alongside emotional and physical trauma, many suffer from acquired or traumatic brain injury (ABI), often caused by repeated blows to the head, strangulation, or other violent tactics used by abusive partners.
Yet brain injuries in these situations often go undiagnosed and untreated. The harm is complex and frequently ignored.
What’s the problem?
In the UK, around 1.6 million women report experiencing domestic abuse each year. But this figure is widely considered an underestimate. Abuse is underreported due to fear, stigma, and a lack of trust in the institutions meant to help.
Some research has explored how women navigate systems like healthcare, housing, and justice after abuse, but few studies focus on what happens when survivors are also living with a brain injury.
When abuse involves brain injury, the challenges multiply. Survivors may struggle with memory, confusion, or emotional overwhelm. These symptoms make it harder to seek help, explain what’s happening, or follow complex processes. Most support systems, police, healthcare, and social services aren’t designed with this in mind.
What did we do?
We analysed interviews from 33 women who screened positive for brain injury and were using domestic abuse services in England and Wales. The data came from Too Many to Count, a national study by Brainkind, a UK brain injury charity.
These women had survived abuse. Many had experienced multiple head injuries or strangulation. But this study wasn’t about diagnosis—it was about lived experience. We asked them what it was like to seek support from the criminal justice system, healthcare, and social services.
We wanted to understand:
What happens when survivors with brain injuries try to get help?
What did we find?
1. “They didn’t believe me” – Feeling invisible in the system
Many women said they were dismissed by professionals. Police did not act. Social workers missed the risk. Doctors overlooked trauma. If their stories didn’t match a visible version of abuse, they were ignored.
“They didn’t arrest him because my mum denied it, and me as a witness, I wasn’t taken seriously.”
— Identifier 54
“They’ve got no comprehension… their only level of understanding is books.”
— Identifier 55
“He played the system.”
— Identifier 10
These experiences show how survivors with ABI are often overlooked by systems that rely on what they can see.
2.“It takes everything out of you” – The exhaustion of seeking help
For many, getting support was not just hard—it was draining. Women described delays, having to retell their stories, and being passed between disconnected services.
“By the time they contacted me, I didn’t want to go through it all again.”
— Identifier 33
ABI made things worse. Some struggled with memory, fatigue, or confusion. Even simple tasks became overwhelming.
“I struggle with my brain.”
— Identifier 56
What should have been a healing process became another source of stress. Many walked away, not because they didn’t need help, but because they were too exhausted to keep asking.
3. “They didn’t have a clue” – Systemic failure and professional oversight
Many women described systems that were poorly trained, disorganised, or unsafe. Safety plans were missed. Information was lost. Some were never told when their abuser was released.
“They completely lost all the files on me and my children.”
— Identifier 42
“They have gaslighted me… They belittled and invalidated what I’ve gone through.”
— Identifier 30
In some cases, professionals mirrored abusers—refusing to see harm, ignoring evidence, or undermining survivors’ realities. For women with ABI, navigating this added trauma to trauma.
Why does this matter?
This study shows a devastating truth: our support systems aren’t built for survivors with brain injuries. And yet, ABI is alarmingly common among survivors. Some studies suggest over 40% of women in domestic violence shelters may have experienced a brain injury.
So What Needs to Happen?
- Support systems should reduce the mental effort it takes to get help. This can help survivors stay engaged rather than overwhelmed.
- Police, healthcare, and social workers need training to recognise ABI. This can help them respond with more understanding and less judgment.
- Services must coordinate better so survivors don’t have to repeat their trauma. This can help build trust and reduce emotional exhaustion.
- Policies should fund inclusive services that address both visible and invisible harm. This can help survivors feel seen and supported.
Together, these changes can help survivors with brain injuries not just access support, but also benefit from it in a way that helps them rebuild their lives. Supporting survivors with brain injury is not just a clinical issue. It’s a moral one!
Limitations
Like all research, this study has limitations.
First, the screening tool used (BISI) suggests a history of brain injury, but it isn’t a diagnosis. We don’t know how severe the injuries were or how long they lasted. This detail could help us understand how ABI affects survivors.
Second, the study didn’t explore how factors like race, disability, or immigration status might add extra barriers. A woman of colour might face racism in healthcare. A migrant woman might avoid seeking help out of fear. These challenges weren’t fully explored in this data.
What we need to do next
Future research should involve medical assessments to better understand what kinds of brain injuries survivors have and how these affect their daily lives. We also need to hear from women who aren’t using services, as they may face the highest barriers. It’s vital to explore how poverty, racism, disability, and other life experiences shape what survivors go through.
Only then can we fully understand the barriers faced by women with acquired brain injuries from domestic abuse when they try to get help.
References
Too many too count. (n.d.). Brainkind. Retrieved 3 May 2025, from https://brainkind.org/TooManyToCount/
Lansdell, G. T., Saunders, B. J., Eriksson, A., & Bunn, R. (2022). Strengthening the connection between acquired brain injury (Abi) and family violence: The importance of ongoing monitoring, research and inclusive terminology. Journal of Family Violence, 37(2), 367–380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-021-00278-1