Main Points Domestic violence is a widespread problem that occurs among all ages, races, educational backgrounds, and socioeconomic groups. Emergency physicians are patient advocates who see the problem firsthand and can play an important role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence. Despite the magnitude of the problem, identifying domestic violence victims is still a complex issue. A. Domestic violence, also known as partner abuse, spouse abuse, or battering, occurs when one person uses force to inflict injury, either emotional or physical, upon another person they have, or had, a relationship with. It occurs between spouses and partners, parents and children, children and grandparents, and brothers and sisters.
Victims can be individuals of any age, race, or gender.
A. Domestic violence is the single largest cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States, more than muggings, car accidents, and rapes combined. Each year between 2 and 4 million women are battered, and 2,000 of these battered women will die of their injuries. Violence against men by women is also a problem, according to the August issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Justice shows that emergency departments treated more than 243,000 people in 1994 for injuries inflicted in the home by someone they knew intimately, four times higher than previous estimates of such crimes. Research studies show that approximately 900,000 parents are beaten or abused by their children each year.