Health Professionals: Your Role in Women's Health

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Violence

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• Helpful Handouts for Patients
• Additional Resources

Despite increased public attention, violence against women is still a substantial problem. Every year millions of women are physically and emotionally abused, raped, or stalked, most commonly by a loved one or someone they know. Violence is often isolating — abusers try to break a victim’s ties to other people. Also, women who are experiencing violence feel ashamed. That’s why your patients need to know:

• They are not alone. Nearly 25 percent of women have been raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.
• More than 1 million women are stalked by partners each year.
• At least 42 percent of women who are abused experienced physical injuries during their most recent assault.
• Physical and psychological abuse is connected to chronic health problems such as gastrointestinal disorders, chronic pain syndrome, depression, and suicidal behavior.
• Abused women are six to eight times more likely to use health care services than nonabused women.

These women want help. Some studies have shown that approximately 70 to 81 percent of survivors of abuse want their health care professionals to ask them about domestic abuse during their appointments. After you ask, you can send your patients home with these womenshealth.gov fact sheets:

Helpful Handouts for Patients

1. Violence Against Women - A special section of womenshealth.gov that discusses the problem of violence against women, as well as ways abused women can get help.

2. Frequently Asked Questions: Date Rape Drugs - New date rape drugs are emerging and everyday health professionals are learning more about drugs that are used for sexual assault. Womenshealth.gov has provided this publication for women seeking more information about date rape drugs and for health professionals to learn the latest street names of date rape drugs.

3. Frequently Asked Questions: Sexual Assault - Victims of sexual assault are affected mentally and physically from their attacks. Although primary health physicians can help victims physically with their attacks, often women need mental and emotional help the most. Health professionals, educators, and counselors can use this publication to locate organizations that help women who are victims of sexual assault.

Additional Resources

Publications

1. Bridging Responses: A Front-Line Worker’s Guide to Supporting Women Who Have Post-
   Traumatic Stress (Copyright © Centre of Addiction and Mental Health) - This guide was designed for health professionals who come in contact with women who have post-traumatic stress as a result of abuse or violence. (PDF file, 3.2 Mb)

2. Handbook on Sensitive Practice for Health Professionals: Lessons from Women Survivors of Child Abuse (Copyright © Health Canada) - This handbook is designed for health professionals who do not have an extensive background on mental health, but encounter women who are still suffering from childhood abuse. (PDF file, 3 Mb)

3. Sexual Violence and the Spectrum of Prevention: Towards a Community Solution (Copyright © National Sexual Violence Resource Center) - This publication provides information for advocates, health professionals, and educators against sexual violence with a guide to developing a community approach to preventing sexual violence.(PDF file, 920 Kb)

4. Screening Tools: Sexual Assault (Copyright © ACOG) - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has developed these questions to help guide health professionals when screening for sexual assault. ACOG also recommends that women are screened for sexual assault during every visit.

5. Preparing your Practice to Address Family Violence (Copyright © American Medical Association) - Addressing family violence with patients can be difficult, however this interactive presentation done by family physicians can give health professionals strategies to initiate conversations with patients about family violence.

6. Screening Tools: Domestic Violence (Copyright © ACOG) - The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has developed these questions to help guide health professionals when screening for domestic violence. ACOG also recommends that women be screened for domestic violence at every obstetric or gynecologic, family planning, or preconception visit.

Organizations

1. Office on Violence Against Women, OJP, DOJ
2. National Sexual Violence Resource Center
3. American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists
4. Family Violence Prevention Fund
5. National Domestic Violence Hotline

= Federal government resource

Content last updated December 1, 2008.