Friday, October 22, 2021

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

 


October is domestic violence awareness month. This month was first instated as domestic violence awareness month in 1989. It is important to spread awareness of domestic violence and educate everyone on this topic in hopes to aid in its eventual elimination. 

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence defines domestic violence as "...the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats, economic, and emotional/psychological abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence varies dramatically."

Here is a domestic violence awareness month toolkit from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence  for 2021.

OACHC hosted "Project Catalyst Domestic Violence Health Center Training" in July of this year. Be sure to check out our blog post covering the event as well as the additional handouts included in the training blog. In addition, be sure to check out OACHC's webpage on Project Catalyst here. 

Here are some key points that our staff at OACHC would like to highlight:

  • 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men have experienced severe intimate partner violence in their lifetime, including physical violence, sexual violence, and/or stalking.
  • The CUES Intervention (Confidentiality, Universal Education and Empowerment, and Support) helps to educate all patients on the health risks of intimate partner violence. OACHC has developed an example workflow for health centers to model and standardize universal education outreach to patients.
  • Survivors of domestic violence are eligible for Special Enrollment of Medicaid
  • Be sure to use this toolkit to implement confidentiality policies protecting patients and staff who have survived violence, to provide universal education on the health risks of DV, and to refer patients who need support to DV advocates.

It is important this month as well as every month to help spread awareness about domestic violence. Please see the additional attachments below for more resources on this topic.


Additional Attachments

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