MARCH 2005
In this issue...
News
Announcements
Events
NEWS
Homicide is One of the Leading Causes of Pregnancy-Associated Injury Deaths, Study Concludes
Homicide is the second leading cause of traumatic death for women of reproductive age. From 1991 to 1999, for every 100,000 live births in the U.S., at least two women died as a result of homicide during pregnancy or within one year of pregnancy. Those are among the findings of a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The results were published in the March 2005 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
The study found that homicide is the second leading cause of reported injury deaths among pregnant and postpartum women in the United States, ranking behind motor vehicle accidents and ahead of unintentional injury, suicide and other causes. Homicides accounted for 31 percent of the maternal injury deaths documented during this period.
Women age 20 or younger and African-American women were at highest risk for pregnancy-associated homicide. More than half the victims of these homicides were killed with firearms.
Women who were abused during pregnancy were three times as likely as women who were not abused during pregnancy to be murdered. Women who received no prenatal health care, or prenatal care only late in their pregnancies, were more likely to be murdered than women who received prenatal care throughout their pregnancies.
Researchers relied on reports provided voluntarily by state health departments, and recommended improved data collection techniques. They were unable to determine the number of homicides of pregnant or postpartum women that were committed by their husbands or boyfriends.
The study’s authors are Jeani Chang, MPH, Cynthia J. Berg, MD, MPH, Linda E. Saltzman, PhD, and Joy Herndon, MS. “Because most pregnant women receive prenatal care or visit their health care provider repeatedly during their pregnancy,” they wrote, “prenatal and postpartum clinical visits represent an opportunity for discussion about violence and for referral and possible intervention.”
Dr. Linda E. Saltzman: A Champion Passes
The violence prevention movement lost a true friend and powerful ally on March 7 when Dr. Linda E. Saltzman of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) died in her sleep. A Senior Scientist at the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Dr. Saltzman was the driving force behind groundbreaking research and unprecedented initiatives designed to prevent violence against women in all its forms, and help victims. She co-authored the new CDC study on pregnancy-associated homicide.
Since joining the CDC in 1984, Dr. Saltzman pressed for numerous studies that helped build understanding about the causes and consequences of domestic and sexual violence. Much of her work focused on public health surveillance of violence against women, and violence as it relates to pregnancy and other reproductive health issues. She helped develop and test uniform definitions for intimate partner and sexual violence, which have made data collection more effective.
“Linda was a remarkable person who challenged the research community to address violence and challenged the advocacy community to base its work on science,” said Family Violence Prevention Fund Managing Director Debbie Lee. “She connected research to policy and science to advocacy in ways that few people have ever done. She made so many of us more effective advocates for the women and children who need our help.”
Dr. Saltzman was a highly regarded expert who authored and co-authored several studies including Intimate Partner Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Criminology from Florida State University and her A.B. degree in psychology from Brown University. From 1978 to 1984, Dr. Saltzman served on the sociology faculty at Mankato State University in Minnesota, where she developed new coursework in victimization, domestic violence and sexual assault.
Dr. Saltzman’s family requests that memorial contributions be directed to:
Marietta Theatre in the Square: Click Here or call (770) 422-8369.
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders: Click Here or call (617) 426-1350.
Irving J. Saltzman Scholarship Fund: Click Here.
Dr. Linda E. Saltzman Memorial Fund
The CDC Foundation has established the Linda E. Saltzman Memorial Fund. This fund will be used for the continuation of Linda’s work related to the prevention of violence against women. The CDC Foundation’s goal is to establish an endowment as a permanent source of funds for research and prevention of violence against women.
Contributions may be made in Dr. Linda E. Saltzman’s name online or mailed to the CDC Foundation, Development Office, 50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 765, Atlanta, GA 30303.
For further information, please contact the CDC Foundation at (404) 653-0790 or contact Michele Lynberg, in the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention at (770) 488-4406.
NSVRC’s 2005 Sexual Assault Awareness Month Campaign Focuses on Prevention and Healthcare Involvement
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) has announced the release of it SAAM Campaign Packet for 2005. This year’s campaign focuses on the importance of developing healthy, respectful relationships as a positive step in the prevention of sexual violence.
Another important aspect of the NSVRC’s awareness efforts this year involves the beginning of a new collaborative initiative with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that focuses on the healthcare communities. Entitled Practicing Prevention: Healthcare and Sexual Violence, this five-year initiative will raise awareness within the healthcare communities of sexual violence, and encourage healthcare professionals to become part of the solution. The initiative is based on recognition of the crucial role of healthcare workers in interfacing with the public across the life span.
A primary goal of this initiative is developing materials and information on sexual violence to share with the healthcare community.
For more information on the initiative, contact the NSVRC toll free at (877) 739-3895 and ask for Karen Baker, ext 101 or Susan Lewis, ext 102.
To request a 2005 SAAM Campaign Packet with event ideas, products and general information, contact the NSVRC toll-free at (877) 739-3895 or Click Here.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
New Online Journal Explores Domestic Violence in Health Care and Public Health Settings
The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) launched an unprecedented online journal in January. Family Violence Prevention and Health Practice is the first journal to be entirely dedicated to domestic and family violence in the health care context.
The premiere issue features a guest editorial by the President of the American Medical Association. It also includes articles addressing the primary and secondary prevention of intimate partner violence in the health care setting; the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations on intimate partner violence; and a new compendium of funded research projects on violence against women.
Upcoming issues will address: engaging community clinics in violence prevention; evaluating health care-based family violence programs; and technology and family violence.
“We hope that this groundbreaking publication will improve the health, safety and quality of care for survivors of family violence by making it easier for health care providers to intervene and help victims,” said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler.
“Our new e-journal will offer an unprecedented venue to report on evidence-based as well as exploratory research,” added FVPF Managing Director Debbie Lee. “We think it will fill a niche by showcasing emerging research, the experiences of providers and researchers, and clinical initiatives on family violence.”
The editor of Family Violence Prevention and Health Practice is Linda Chamberlain, PhD, MPH. The online journal is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families and produced by the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, a project of the Family Violence Prevention Fund.
To view the new journal and subscribe, at no charge, Click Here.
Domestic Violence Risk Measurement Tool Now Online
Each year, more than three million women in the U.S. are abused by their intimate partners-and more than 1,200 are killed by their abusers. These victims of homicide or attempted homicide are often unaware that their lives are in danger prior to the attack. The newly revised Danger Assessment instrument, developed by Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Associate Dean Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, is available now online to help women at risk learn their level of danger and to train domestic violence advocates, law enforcement, and health care professionals in measuring and warning danger levels.
“According to informants who knew the victims,” says Dr. Campbell, “only 47 percent of femicide victims accurately predicted their risk before the lethal event and only 53 percent of attempted femicide victims accurately predicted their risk before the attempted murder.”
Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Campbell created the first Danger Assessment (DA) to help victims of abuse and the professionals who work with them to better understand the threats to their safety and well-being. This year, Dr. Campbell revised and updated the assessment to incorporate the findings of recent domestic violence research and to deliver the mechanism to a wider audience through a new website, Dangerassessment.org. Women who feel they are in danger may visit the website and download the DA for free. The results are best interpreted, however, by a person certified to use the DA scoring system. Criminal justice, health care and advocacy practitioners who wish to administer the assessment and interpret the scoring system also may use the website to obtain training and certification.
The assessment begins by giving a woman a calendar. She is asked to mark the days when physically abusive incidents occurred, ranking each incident's severity on a scale between one and five. This exercise can heighten the woman's awareness of her situation and reduce denial and minimization of the abuse. When the DA was originally developed, Dr. Campbell found that 38 percent of women who initially reported no increase in severity and frequency changed their response to “yes” after filling out the calendar.
The second part of the assessment asks the woman 20 questions designed to identify danger within the relationship. Each question addresses a specific behavior that is a significant predictor to intimate partner homicide. The list includes questions such as “Does he own a gun?” “Is he an alcoholic or problem drinker?” and “Does he threaten to harm your children?”
According to Dr. Campbell, “Women using the DA can gain a better understanding of their risk and decrease their chances of becoming femicide victims.” She added, “Now that the assessment is easily accessible to battered women, advocates, and other practitioners, perhaps some of those 1,200 murders may be prevented.”
Dangerassessment.org is presented through the Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing, the joint JHU School of Nursing and the JHH Department of Nursing initiative formed to promote and support nursing excellence and to foster communication and collaboration between nursing education and nursing practice.
Source: Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing; Released: Wed 23-Feb-2005, 11:20 ET
EVENTS
Conference on U.S. Policy and Reproductive Justice
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Smith College Women’s Studies Program will convene Reproductive Justice for All: A U.S. Policy Conference at Smith College, Northampton, MA on November 10-13, 2005.
This national conference will discuss and design agendas for reproductive policies in the U.S. that advance social justice. Placing race, culture, sexuality, age and class at the center of a policy conversation about women’s reproductive rights issues, the conference will consider laws and policies affecting:
The rights of pregnant women;
The control of sexuality;
The right to be a mother; and
Assisted reproductive and genetic technologies.
The first part of the conference will consist of symposia exploring current reproductive justice issues in each of these four areas (e.g., social control of motherhood; procreative liberty of marginalized women; abstinence-only education and marital sexuality; equity issues in assisted reproduction). During the second part of the conference, participants will join a workgroup to develop frameworks for policies that promote reproductive justice. The conference will conclude with a plenary discussion of policy ideas generated by the workgroups.
Plenary sessions will be open to the public. Participation in conference workgroups will be limited to conference registrants. Registration is open to public policy advocates and researchers who are engaged in reproductive justice work across the country. Interested parties should Save the Date and stay tuned for more specific information regarding this exciting policy conference. Conference registration will be capped due to space considerations.
For more information contact conference coordinators Gwendolyn Mink, Charles N. Clark Professor, Smith College at gmink@smith.edu or Jacqueline Payne, Assistant Director of Government Relations, PPFA at Jackie.Payne@ppfa.org.
Health e-News is a monthly electronic news digest focusing on health care and domestic violence policy, research, prevention and advocacy. Health e-News is available in both text and html formats. To subscribe Click Here.
We encourage you to use Health e-News to share news, views, and experiences concerning your projects and activities on addressing domestic violence as a health care issue. To post an announcement or ask a question, send an e-mail to HealthE-News@endabuse.org. The digest is monitored by Vibhuti Mehra, Senior Program Assistant with the Family Violence Prevention Fund.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to end domestic violence!
Be sure to visit our website http://endabuse.org/health to learn more about our programs, products, and campaigns!
This publication is funded in part by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau.
Copyright © 2003 Family Violence Prevention Fund
endabuse.org