Women, Health and Domestic Violence

Abstract

'Domestic' violence is a health problem for women, and not just because of the injuries they receive. It leads to acute and chronic physical injury, miscarriage, loss of hearing or vision, physical disfigurement and often depression, alcoholism and sometimes suicide. The medical and caring professions are in the best position to act as the 'front line' in helping women who are assaulted by their partners, because most of the female population visit doctors, are visited by health visitors or use the services of midwives during their twenties and thirties, but the pervasive 'medical model' and the individualistic stance of modern medicine mitigate against this role. This article gives the first results from a survey of medical professionals - doctors, practice nurses, health visitors and midwives - in one English county. It looks at how often they are aware of seeing cases of domestic violence in their practice, what they know about it, what they would be prepared to do about it and how they see their own role and that of the health service.