Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women – more than car accidents, muggings, and rape combined. And studies suggest that up to ten (10) million children witness some form of domestic abuse annually. Everyone has a right to be safe.

Research data indicates that when different members of the community coordinated their efforts to protect battered women and hold batterers accountable, these efforts were more successful. Coordination helps to ensure that the system works faster and better for victims, that victims are protected and receive the services they need, and that batterers are held accountable and cease their abusive behavior. A critical first step toward coordinating responses is developing a common understanding of domestic violence.

Law enforcement agencies, advocates, health care providers, child protection services, local businesses, the media, employers and clergy can—and ideally should—be involved in a coordinated community response. Health care providers, in particular, can be important participants. Doctors, nurses and emergency room workers may see and treat women who do not or cannot seek other kinds of assistance. Coordinated community response programs often work to create a network of support for victims and their families that is both available and accessible. Coordinated community response programs often use the full extent of the community’s legal system to protect victims, hold batterers accountable, and enforce the community’s intolerance of domestic violence. Coordinated community response programs also often engage the entire community in efforts to change the social norms and attitudes that contribute to domestic violence. (From American Medical Association, Family Violence: Building a Coordinated Community Response 12 (1996).)

The conference aims to advance the health care system’s response to domestic violence. The Conference attracts the nation’s leading medical, public health and family violence experts from across the U.S. with increased international participation. In addition to the institutes, workshops, and plenary session, award winning actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith will perform part of her one-woman show on healthcare, Let Me Down Easy, during the biennial National Conference on Health & Domestic Violence.

Conference Logistics:

Event Date:     March 29-31, 2012

Location:         San Francisco, California

Sponsor:          Futures Without Violence

The 6th Biennial National Conference on Health and Domestic Violence will feature cutting-edge research and practice on the intersection of healthcare and violence prevention. Workshops, scientific posters, and plenary sessions highlight the latest research and most innovative clinical responses to domestic violence, with a focus on the work being done by physicians, physician assistants, dentists, nurses, nurse midwives, mental and behavioral health providers, social workers, domestic violence experts, researchers and others. The Conference includes an Exhibit Hall to feature local and national resources. The Conference is primarily funded by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

With thirteen (13) in-depth Pre-Conference Institutes, one hundred and seventy (170) workshop presentations, in addition to plenary and keynote sessions, the Conference is one of the largest forums of its kind for advocates, clinicians, and researchers.

Prevention Pre-Conference Topics:

The prevention pre-conference institutes, workshops, and plenary sessions are as follows:

Prevention: Here are some of the prevention related titles of sessions:

Pre-Conference Institute: Promoting healthy relationships & preventing teen dating violence in the middle school years

Pre-Conference Institute: Intersectionality and gender based violence

Pre-Conference Institute: What’s your role in ending violence against women on campus?

Teen dating violence trajectories: Expect respect and gender matters intervention projects

Evaluation of the green dot bystanding intervention program in high school and college campuses

Weathering tough economic times through relationships: Innovations in teen dating violence prevention with youth at the center

Preventing IPV among Hispanics: Family, partner and community violence exposure, innovative training programs and impact on reproductive health of gang-affiliated Latina women

Interactive multimedia and online tools to understand teen perspectives on relationships, teach about IPV, and to transform negative social norms to positive ones

The fourth R: Classroom and small-group strategies to reduce dating violence and abuse

Promoting healthy relationships among adolescents in health care and school settings

Engaging men and boys as allies: Prevention programs and therapeutic tools for young men exposed to violence

Closing plenary session on Transformers:  Risk, Resilience and the Promise of our Teens

Conference Sponsor: Futures Without Violence’s

Mission

“Everyone has the right to live free of violence. Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund, works to prevent and end violence against women and children around the world.”

Service(s)

From domestic and dating violence, to child abuse and sexual assault, Futures Without Violence works to end some of the most pressing global issues of our time.  We advance the health, stability, education, and security of women and girls, men and boys worldwide. In 1994, Futures Without Violence was instrumental in developing the landmark Violence Against Women Act passed by the US Congress. Striving to reach new audiences and transform social norms, we train professionals such as doctors, nurses, athletic coaches, and judges on improving responses to violence and abuse. As well, we work with advocates, policy makers and others to build sustainable community leadership and educate people everywhere about the importance of respect and healthy relationships – the relationships that all individuals, families, and communities need and deserve.



For further information on the conference or to register, please visit www.nchdv.org.

Source(s): Prevent-Connect. Futures Without Violence website.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art.