Asking About Domestic Violence: SAFE Questions-Reply

Abstract

In Reply. —Dr Ashur's use of the acronym SAFE as a means for guiding physician questions about the possibility of domestic violence is both helpful and appropriate. Many of these questions are very much like those we included in the American Medical Association's Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines on Domestic Violence , and we like her additional questions about feelings of safety within the relationship, friends' or family members' knowledge of the abuse, and the emergency plan. Readers may be interested in knowing that there is an excellent community model designed to enhance physicians' response to domestic violence, called Project S.A.F.E. (Safety Assessment for Everyone), which is a collaborative effort of the Domestic Violence Training Project, the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and the Hartford County Medical Society. According to that program, the word safety is a key word because it summarizes the basic therapeutic issue and forms the basis for