Working with Battered Women: a Handbook for ... - Hot Peach Pages

More documents

Recommendations

Info

$C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator ... - Hot Peach Pages$

HOW TO HELP BATTERED WOMENWhat can you as health care providers do to make a positive difference in the lives of abusedwomen and thereby fulfil you partnership role? Essentially there are five aspects of care that youcan provide for women who have been abused and who come to you for help. They are:• IDENTIFICATION• ASSESSMENT/EXAMINATION• DOCUMENTATION• SAFETY PLANNING/PROTECTION• REFERRALYou may be concerned that implementing procedures and protocols around these five aspectsof care for abused women will be difficult because of time constraints. Be assured that this hasproven not to be the case in hospitals and offices where these practices have been implemented. Itis not your responsibility to solve all the problems of a woman's life. It is your responsibility todevelop meaningful intervention procedures that meet the immediate needs of an abused womanpresenting to you. Appropriate medical intervention is crucial for the one in four women who willhave been assaulted by their marital partners. A doctor or nurse may be the one and onlyprofessional an abused woman has contact with. Nurses and physicians caring for a womanthroughout her pregnancy will be in the unique position of having regular and continuous contactwith her over an extended period of time.It is important that medical professionals be aware of possible indicators of abuse and followup their suspicions by questioning their patients about whether or not they are experiencingviolence at the hands of their marital partner. Recent research has found that women are in factmore likely to reveal abuse when asked by their primary health care giver. You have animportant role to play in uncovering abuse. And once the abuse has been identified, you canthen treat not only the symptoms but give the information and make the referrals to appropriateemergency and counselling services in the hope of ending future violence. Begin setting up yourown systems immediately. A coordinated approach to violence against women can make adifference.Having domestic violence procedures and protocols in place for each aspect of care is the keyto consistent and effective intervention—intervention that is based on clear principles and not onerroneous myths about battering.12
PRINCIPLES OF INTERVENTION• Domestic violence is a crime in all Canadian provinces.• Domestic violence is a serious health problem that affects physical,social and emotional health.• No one should be subjected to abuse either physically, sexually,emotionally or financially.• The perpetrator of the abuse is fully responsible for it.• Health care providers are responsible for ensuring that abused womenreceive high-quality and compassionate care from them. This isaccomplished by understanding the nature of the woman's experienceand attending to emotional and physical symptoms.• Health care providers are not responsible for ensuring that a womanwho has been battered is not beaten again. Individuals are the bestjudges of their lives and circumstance. Physicians, nurses and socialworkers must respect the patient's decisions—including the decision tocontinue to live with the individual who has harmed her.• And, most of all, the principle of universal screening for all womenpresenting is vital.13
Page 1 and 2: WORKING WITH BATTERED WOMEN:A HANDB
Page 3 and 4: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND HEALTH CARE P
Page 7 and 8: Why do men abuse?One side of the dy
Page 9: • Faith: some religious groups ma
Page 13: Information Means ChoicesBecause le
Page 17 and 18: MYTH: Women provoke violence.FACT:
Page 19 and 20: Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST)1.
Page 21 and 22: What To Do When A Patient Discloses
Page 23 and 24: Difficult SituationsThere are a num
Page 25 and 26: Physical Indicators/Symptoms1. In E
Page 27 and 28: II.ASSESSMENT/EXAMINATION• Perfor
Page 29 and 30: • After the photographs are taken
Page 31 and 32: IV.SAFETY PLANNING/PROTECTIONAssess
Page 33 and 34: FOR YOUR PROTECTION1. Write down im
Page 35 and 36: Obtaining Legal Protection• Initi
Page 37 and 38: BATTERED WOMEN'S SHELTERSBattered w
Page 39 and 40: APPENDIX BABUSE AND THE SASKATCHEWA
Page 41 and 42: G. WHAT SENTENCE WILL HE RECEIVE IF
Page 43 and 44: References1. Statistics Canada, The
Page 45: FACTS ON WIFE ABUSE AND PREGNANCY

Working with Battered Women: a Handbook for ... - Hot Peach Pages

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?