Supporting ALL victims of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation: guidance for health providers

Roderik F Viergever,Judith Rlm Wolf,Nicki Thorogood,Mary Alison Durand

doi:10.1186/s12914-018-0178-y

Abstract

Smaller groups of victims of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation – such as male victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), victims of elder abuse, victims of abuse by carers, victims of parent abuse, victims of human trafficking, girls and boys below 18 years engaging in sex work, victims of sexual exploitation by gangs or groups and victims of honour based violence (such as forced marriages and female genital mutilation) – are often in contact with the health care system without being identified as such and frequently do not receive appropriate treatment. To address this problem, two things need to happen: 1) that ALL groups of victims of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation are explicitly listed in policies and protocols, and 2) that both the similarities as well as the differences between the groups with regard to identification, support and referral – described in this article – are explained, so that health providers are appropriately supported in this important function.

Highlights

Similarities and differences between various groups of victims of VANE It is key that health providers recognize both the similarities and differences between these groups
Lesser-known victims of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation A positive development in global public health and social policy in the past few decades has been the recognition of the importance of adequate responses to victims of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation (‘VANE’, from hereon)
The word ‘violence’ in this term is mostly broadly interpreted in the Netherlands as meaning VANE, a further improvement may be to speak of ‘Violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation in power-imbalanced relationships’

Summary

Background

Lesser-known victims of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation A positive development in global public health and social policy in the past few decades has been the recognition of the importance of adequate responses to victims of violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation (‘VANE’, from hereon). This has led to much improved policies and practices supporting female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) and victims of child abuse.

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