The paper argues that understanding intimate partner abuse within the perspectives of the social ecology of health is important for a realistic understanding of the options available for women in escaping intimate partner abuse. The paper also discusses the contributions of theories of social status and the role of humiliation, entrapment, and coercion in explaining the effects of intimate violence and abuse on women's mental health. The paper recommends that the model for health services to women victims of intimate partner abuse encompass mental health services. Research has shown the prevalence and patterns of mental health disorders precipitated and/or aggravated by intimate partner abuse. This pattern has been found not only in cases of domestic violence in Australia but also globally, that the greater the frequency and severity of the abuse, the greater the harm to the female victim's mental health. Women who escape abuse typically show a reduction in symptoms of mental disorder. The paper also discusses violence against women in its broader social and environmental context. Factors such as poverty, unemployment, low education, wider social conflict, and subsequent immigration and refugee status can aggravate mental disorders in the context of domestic violence. 89 references