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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2005-11-30, Page 11The Huron Expositor • November 30, 2005 Page 11 News Community is best foe of woman abuse: Boyd Huron health care providers hear best ways to deal with violence against women Cheryl Heath "The walking wounded out there are legion." That message was delivered to dozens of health-care providers at the Huron County Health Unit recently by Marion Boyd, Ontario's former attorney general and a lead- ing advocate of domestic violence awareness. Boyd, who heads a task force on domestic violence, sits on the vic- tim's compensation board and is the former executive director of a bat- tered women's shelter, was on hand to outline the protocols and proce- dures to best utilize while dealing with woman abuse. Some of the first indicators that a woman is a victim of violence are often readily apparent to the eye, including bruises, scratches and injuries to the hands or teeth. Other more subtle symptoms include Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), chronic back pain, hyperten- sion and dental injuries. The first challenge facing health- care providers, acknowledges Boyd, is that sometimes they are met with a brick wall when attempting to ascertain an injury's cause. One way to alleviate the stress, says Boyd, is to present questions in a non -confrontational way and a step in that direction is to present every female patient with a univer- sal questionnaire so patients don't feel pinpointed. That query is made through the Routine Universal Comprehensive Screening (RUCS) protocol. The next crucial step, advises Boyd, is to offer referral services and not judgment. "We cannot ride in on a white charger and rescue her," she says. "It is the woman's choice." In fact, says Boyd, if a health-care worker does criticize a woman's partner, her natural reaction is to likely return to the arms of the abuser since he is an object of her love. A woman suffering from domestic abuse often needs the support of a number of government or communi- ty-based agencies and that is why an integrated approach to the situa- tion is important. Boyd notes though an integrated style has been in use for many years, a 1999 study revealed health- care professionals had been left out of the loop, which left a hole that allowed many abused women to fall through. And, the health-care professionals that were aware of abusive situa- tions are sometimes unwilling to make referrals for fear of violating ery ' eat p oto Marion Boyd, Ontario's former attorney general and a leading advocate of domestic at the Huron County Health Unit. violence awareness speaks at a recent meeting the doctor -patient relationship, she says. "The few referrals being made were to psychiatry," says Boyd, adding that type of reaction is unhelpful given it does nothing to address the problem, which is the abusive partner. Another obstacle for victims of abuse is the perception a health- care provider does not care or does not want to know about what should otherwise be noted as injuries caused by an assault. The key thing for all vested agen- cies and parties to understand, says Boyd, is abuse is about control. She says there is a common mis- perception that an abusive partner is out of control when, in fact, he is using violence as a method of con- trolling his partner. "This is not lack of control. It's an act of control," she says, noting every person has the capacity to be violent. . She adds a man can employ differ- ent tactics — like using children as pawns, instilling fear of reprisals and making the woman financially dependent — that are also classified as abuse. Boyd says it is important to understand violence has a cumula- tive effect. For example, children raised in abusive homes often grow up to be either abusers or in abusive rela- tionships. She also cites a report that shows $4.2 billion is taken from the economy each year because of violence. The statistics on domestic vio- lence, notes Boyd, are abysmal. A recent study reveals one in four women has experienced violence in her lifetime and 43 per cent of females have experienced inappro- priate sexual aggression by the age of 16. "The statistics scared people a lot," says Boyd. "It was put on a shelf." Boyd says the challenge is not to ignore the issue, but to instead rec- ognize domestic violence is a perva- sive problem that requires atten- tion. "It is more common to experience abuse than not," she says, noting every .time she makes a presenta- tion on the topic, there is something in the news that highlights the fact domestic violence continues to exist. When Boyd addressed the topic, a murder -suicide in Windsor was in the headlines. Boyd says such scenarios are com- mon in domestic violence situations because the abuser often feels he has nothing left to lose. "Homicide is a really big issue for both the victim and the perpetra- tor," she says, adding it is some- times the abused person who mur- ders the abusive partner. With all the facts in hand, Boyd advises health-care providers to adhere to three responsibilities. First, to identify suspected abuse and second to give women the resources they require to seek help. Last, health-care professionals must document findings in the event they are needed by either the victims or the courts at a later date. "Each incident should be accorded the same attention," says Boyd, not- ing there is an unfortunate tenden- cy for more weight to be meted out to an attempted murder victim than someone who has been assaulted. "There is a huge number of women that will not seek help from police at least not initially," says Boyd. In an interview following the pre- sentation, Boyd says the recent murder of a nurse by a former boyfriend in Windsor underscores the importance of treating recog- nizance orders seriously. "We have to make those orders much more enforceable," she says, noting abusers often ignore the orders, more commonly known as peace bonds. She adds the recommendations from the inquest into the murder of Pickering woman Gillian Hadley in the 1990s was successful in getting more serious attention paid to the issue of domestic violence. "We don't know of how many women were saved by that. We only know of the failures," she says. "I believe women are safer than they were." She adds it is important for judges to dole out proper sentences when a person is convicted of crimi- nal harassment, which is more com- monly known as stalking. She says many abusers are hand- ed conditional discharges when those were not meantfor violent crimes. "Unfortunately, the judges do not See it that way," she says. Regardless, she says, the No. 1 fighter of domestic violence is the community. "The community has to say this is not acceptable," she says. Boyd's visit was sponsored by the Huron County Child Abuse Prevention Committee.