APRIL 2011
April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. One in four U.S. women report experiencing physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Sexual assault is a dynamic of intimate partner violence which, in turn, can directly impact a woman’s reproductive and sexual health—increasing risk for unintended pregnancies and abortions, miscarriage, and HIV/AIDS infection.

There are different ways you can help bring awareness to domestic violence not only this month, but all year long. Find out what you can do at your school, clinic, and community by reading the features below. Read our online fact sheets to learn more about the issue and take a look at our online catalog of materials to support your campus activities.  Let me know what you’re planning on your campus for April and beyond by sending me an email: healthintern1@endabuse.org.

Also, feel free to email me with any questions or to talk more about campus strategies to help raise awareness of domestic violence. If you would like to subscribe to this listserv, click here and be sure to check the box for “Student Health Network.”

Thanks,
Michelle Dalida
Family Violence Prevention Fund
Graduate Health Intern
healthintern1@endabuse.org

FEATURED NEWS
Are you interested in getting involved with the Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month campaign? Check out the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s 2011 national Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) campaign. Download resources and purchase products related to SAAM and help bring awareness of the health impacts of sexual assault to your community.
[Source: nsvrc.org]

EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Lunch Briefing on Violence and Abuse: How Public Health Can Help Prevent and Respond- Washington D.C.
The National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse will host a Congressional lunch briefing with Senator Tom Harkin and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter on “Violence and Abuse: How Public Health Can Help Prevent and Respond” on Thursday, April 7 from 12pm-1:30pm in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center, Room House 201. For more information about this event, click here
[Source: endabuse.org]

Sixth Annual Walk For Change- Boston, MA
Walk to raise money for the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center! The walk will be held at Canal Park in Cambridge on Sunday, April 10 at 11am. Registration begins at 9:30am. To register for the event, click here.
[Source: ncdsv.org]

2011 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Stalking- Chicago, IL
End Violence Against Women International is hosting the 2011 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Stalking in Chicago on April 11-13.  Join fellow law enforcement personnel, victim advocates, rape crisis workers, and medical personnel in this conference highlighting promising practices and emerging issues in sexual assault, domestic violence, and stalking. For more information, click here.
[Source: evawintl.org]

Domestic Violence and Its Impact on the Developing Child- Houston, TX
The Texas Council on Family Violence, The Survivor Caucus, and the Allied for Children and Teens are hosting the April 28 training “Domestic Violence and Its Impact on The Developing Child” in Houston from 10am-3pm. This presentation will address some key issues related to the child’s complex set of reactions that often follow traumatic events such as exposure to violence at home, and how the adults in their lives can help them better understand the traumatic event and the ways we respond to the trauma.  For more information and to register for this event, click here.
[Source: tcfv.org]

CURRENT NEWS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS
Hewitt, LN et al (2011) “The Secrets Women Kepp: Intimate Partner Violence Screening in the Female Trauma Patient.” Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection and Critical Care, 70(2): 320-323.
Abstract: Background: Although intimate partner violence (IPV) is the leading cause of serious injury and the second leading cause of death among reproductive age women in America, effective screening is difficult. Our institution currently screens for IPV during the floor intake assessment by having a registered nurse (RN) ask three unscripted questions about physical, verbal, and sexual abuse during a battery of 81 questions. The patients are frequently in pain, medicated, distraught, or intoxicated, and the RN is juggling multiple responsibilities. We also use a protocol-driven alcohol abuse screen on every trauma admission known as "Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral for Treatment" (SBIRT). It is conducted by trained counselors when any effects of alcohol are gone in a distraction-free setting after patients have had time to ruminate on their admission. We hypothesized that linking the validated partner violence screening (PVS) to SBIRT would result in higher rates of positive IPV screens than after RN screens.
Methods: This prospective trial was conducted at an urban Level I center. English-and Spanish-speaking female trauma patients underwent the three-question, nonvalidated RN-screen on floor arrival per the local standard of care. Before discharge, they then underwent SBIRT screening per trauma service protocol, after which SBIRT administered the PVS as our investigative intervention. All screens were native language. SBIRT screeners were blinded to the results of the earlier RN screen. If an SBIRT or RN screen was not performed for any reason, it was categorized as a negative screen. Admissions to the surgical intensive care unit had both screens delayed until floor transfer. McNemar's exact test was used for paired categorical data and Fisher's exact test otherwise. Significance was set at an alpha of 0.05.
Results: One hundred twenty-five consecutive female inpatients (mean age, 40.9 years +/- 17.7 years; Injury Severity Score, 9.8 +/- 7.5) were enrolled, with 14 (11.2%) screening positive for one or both methods. The SBIRT-linked screen was significantly better at detecting IPV than the RN screen (p = 0.01). No association was found between the likelihood of giving a discordant response to the two IPV screens and acute alcohol intoxication or polysubstance abuse at the time of admission, being a Spanish-only speaker, or if the initial admission was directly to the surgical intensive care unit. Despite being mandatory on intake, 23 of 125 patients (18.4%) had no RN screen performed, with 2 of these patients screening positive for IPV by SBIRT personnel.
Conclusion: Linking an IPV screen to an established alcohol abuse screen results in higher rates of detection of IPV than screening by RNs at intake assessment. At our institution, adoption of this practice should result in detecting and referring similar to 85 additional female trauma inpatients per year for IPV services.
[Source: Web of Knowledge]

Alio, AP et al (2011) “Association between intimate partner violence and induced abortion in Cameroon.” Internationa Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 112 (2): 83-87.
Abstract: Objective: To examine the association between intimate partner violence (IPV: physical, sexual, and emotional violence) and induced abortion in Cameroon. Methods: We used data from the 2004 Cameroon Demographic Health Survey (OHS) and hierarchic multivariate modeling to compare the rates of induced abortion by IPV type. Results: In 2004, 2570 women were administered the domestic violence module of the OHS. Of those women, 126(4.9%) reported having had at least 1 induced abortion. Cameroonian women reported high rates of IPV: physical violence (995 [38.7%]); emotional violence (789 [30.7%]); and sexual violence (381 [14.8%]). After adjusting for covariates, physical and sexual IPV increased the risk for induced abortion, whereas the association between emotional violence and induced abortion was not significant in multivariate models. Conclusion: Given the increased risk for maternal morbidity and mortality following unsafe induced abortions in Cameroon, the association between induced abortion and IPV is of interest in terms of public health. Programs targeted at preventing IPV might reduce the rate of maternal morbidity and mortality.
[Source: Web of Knowledge]

FUNDING LINKS-SCHOLARSHIPS-RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Funding Opportunity: STEP Program
The STEP Program, was created by the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 to support middle and high schools to develop and implement effective training, services, prevention strategies, policies, and coordinated community responses for student victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. Funding will be provided by the Office on Violence Against Women. The deadline for the application is April 6, 2011. For more information on this opportunity, click here.
[Source: ovw.usdoj.gov/ovwgrantprograms]

Funding Opportunity: Research on Violence and Victimization Across the Life-Span
The National Institute of Justice and its Violence and Victimization Research Division are looking for qualified applicants to conduct research and evaluation on violence and victimization on basic research on the causes and correlates of violence and victimization across the life span and special topics in violence in victimization such as teen dating violence, sexual violence, stalking, domestic violence and other topics. The application deadline is April 6, 2011. For more information on this listing, click here.
[Source: ncjrs.gov]

JOB AND INTERNSHIP LISTINGS
Domestic Violence Advocate-SafeHouse Denver Counseling and Advocacy Center- Denver, CO
The Domestic Violence Advocate is responsible for carrying a full-time case load of individuals experiencing abuse. The advocate will provide crisis intervention, client intake/assessment, safety planning, advocacy/planning and case management services. For more information and to apply to the position, click here.
[Source: indeed.com]

Domestic Violence Advocate-Brigham and Women’s Hospital- Boston, MA
The Domestic Violence Advocate is a part of Passageway, the domestic violence intervention program of Brigham and Women’s hospital. The successful candidate will provide advocacy services, information to battered women to increase knowledge and understanding about domestic violence, initial and on-going risk assessment to assess the overall danger in women’s relationships, and other responsibilities. For more information about this opportunity and to apply, click here.
[Source: newenglandherc.org]

Bilingual Case Manager- Domestic Violence Intervention Services- Tulsa, OK
The responsibilities of the case manager include advocacy and linking clients with local resources. For more information and to apply to the position, click here.
[Source: indeed.com]