Healthcare Cares About Ending Intimate Violence

October is Domestic Abuse Awareness month.  In recognition, Meriter is sponsoring an ice cream social and community information fair to build awareness about services available to the women, men and children in Dane County who are affected by domestic violence. This is a very real social issue that has huge a huge health impact for the individual being abused and their family.

The event will take place in the Meriter Hospital Atrium, Monday, October 19 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Participating agencies include:

• Dane County Child Protection Committee
• Dane County Rape Crisis Center
• Domestic Abuse Intervention Services
• Elder Abuse
• Meriter Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program
• Rainbow Project
• Safe Harbor
• Unidos
• University Health Services
• Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence

 The National Domestic Abuse Hotline website shares several startling statistics about domestic violence:

• 1 in 4 women, 1 in 9 men in United states are victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives. (CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey 2005)
• Each year, intimate partner violence (IPV) results in an estimated 1,200 deaths and 2 million injuries among women and nearly 600,000 injuries among men. (CDC Adverse Health Conditions and Health Risk Behaviors Associated with Intimate Partner Violence – United States 2005)
• Liz Claiborne Inc. Teen Relationship Abuse Survey 2006 reported that 14% of teens said they would do almost anything to keep a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• 20% of those who have been in a serious relationship have been hit, slapped, or pushed by a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• 1 in 5 female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner. Abused girls are significantly more likely to get involved in other risky behaviors. They are 4 to 6 times more likely to get pregnant and 8 to 9 times more likely to have tried to commit suicide.

Join us to learn of resources available in our community and how you can reach out to help an individual in an abusive relationship.

10/14/2009