Because nurses are among those who come into contact with victims of domestic violence needing medical attention, Dr. Moss thought the question was well worth pursing. Nurses are at the front lines of community health, she said.
Abuse needs to be studied in women s health and incorporated into nursing curriculum.
Right now, we are not getting the information out to young women. According to Dr. Moss, a lot of the information which shapes our perceptions of abused women is misleading. There are stereotypes about battered women comes mainly from those women who come to shelters and who tend to have lower socioeconomic status. As a consequence says Moss, abuse is seldom studied among this group. In fact, Moss was as interested in differences among abused women as in discovering the common experiences of leaving harmful relationships.