DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Course overview

Objectives By the end of this educational encounter, the clinician will be able to: Identify at risk populations for Domestic Violence Recognize signs of Domestic Violence Illustrate interventions to prevent Domestic Violence Introduction Laura walked up the sidewalk toward the door with her keys in her hand. It had been a long day made even longer by the fact that an accident on the freeway had tied up traffic for over an hour. She would be severely behind in getting supper ready and that was sure to put Paul in a bad mood when he got home. He liked their home to run smoothly and he had very exacting standards. When things were not to his suiting, he could become explosive. Lately things were much worse, probably due to stress at work she told herself, but it would get better. His outbursts of temper had escalated to several episodes of pushing her about a month ago, and last week he had hit her in the face during an argument. He had found an unfamiliar name on the caller ID and had accused her of cheating on him. He had been extremely sorry and more loving after each of the events, but the last couple of days had been frequently calling her work to check up on her. Laura felt the explosion of pain in the back of her head as she fell face forward onto the hardwood floor. Then she felt multiple blows to her ribs, back, and head. Each one took her breath away. Finally, she felt a foot kick her over onto her back as she felt another explosive pain. Her vision started to grow dim. Just as she faded away, she looked up into the rage filled eyes of her husband, Paul! Prevalence The definition of domestic violence in professional literature is quite variable.