Mandatory reporting laws designed to make sure battered women get help from state agencies may backfire and prevent some from seeking help, a recent study shows. What's worse is the laws might even make the batterer more angry and violent, some experts say. A study of women's responses to reporting laws shows fewer women would admit experiencing domestic violence if the women know the information will be passed on to state agencies. The study by the Northern Kentucky Children's Advocacy Center included 154 women who were not told of the mandatory reporting and 136 women who knew about the policy. Continue reading .
Psychological abuse can leave women with health problems.
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can also hurt you, says a new study from the University of South Carolina. The Boston Herald reports that women who are psychologically abused have many of the same health problems as women who have been physically abused, and they are much more likely to have health problems than women who have never been abused. These problems include pain, urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, irritable bowel syndrome and migraine headaches. And, because psychologically abusive behavior is not as obvious to outsiders, these women have a harder time getting the right kind of treatment. Continue reading .