Recently, violence among intimates has received increased attention internationally. The medical need to identify victims is particularly well established. Kilpatrick et al. Violence also seems to be widespread within dating relationships.
Women are at greatest risk of injury, sexual assault, and homicide by their partners.
This is unfortunate when considering that partner violence is typically ongoing, and failure to identify and intervene, either directly or indirectly, increases the chances that a victim patient will eventually experience severe physical and emotional injury or death. American Medical Association. Diagnostic and treatment guidelines on domestic violence. American Medical Association, Council on Scientific Affairs. Prevalence and correlates of physical aggression during courtship.