The spatial overlap between risk of intimate partner violence against women and suicide-related emergency calls

Abstract

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a global problem, and suicidal behaviour is one of its most serious consequences. However, no study has investigated the spatial overlap between the two. The aim of this paper is to analyse whether there is spatial overlap between IPVAW and suicide-related calls in the same neighbourhoods, and to identify common risk factors. Geocoded data on IPVAW (N = 2060) and suicide-related calls (N = 4916) from the city of Valencia, Spain, between 2019 and 2021 were collected from the 112 emergency service and the Spanish National Police Corps. We used two analytical approaches: (i) a Bayesian spatial Poisson regression modelling analysis to identify the risk factors associated with IPVAW and suicide-related calls; (ii) Bayesian joint spatial modelling to examine the common spatial distribution of these outcomes. Relative risk maps are also displayed and analysed. The study revealed a higher incidence of IPVAW and suicide-related calls in neighbourhoods with lower income and population density, and greater residential instability and immigrant concentration. There was a 70% similarity between high- and low-risk areas for these incidents, with a moderate positive correlation of 0.43. Notably, 98% of IPVAW risk variance was explained by shared factors, while 30% applied to suicide-related calls; high IPVAW risk was also found in peripheral areas, while suicide-related calls were concentrated in the city centre. The findings highlight the need to identify areas with shared risk and neighbourhood characteristics for the development of more effective intervention strategies.