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Unit Two Wikipedia Article Topic: I will be adding to and editing [] This article does not mention the controversy of reporting domestic violence even though some states in the US and other countries are obligated to mandatory report cases of domestic violence. I will be adding sections such as: "domestic partner violence", "criticism of reporting DV", "benefits of reporting DV", "victim's perspective on reporting"

EDIT: I will be adding to the Wikipedia article [] about the role of healthcare providers in DV and how they deal with it. Subsections will include: "benefits", "criticism", "rules of reporting DV", "victim's perspective". - Wikipedia article draft Healthcare Provider Intervention I will be adding to the Wikipedia article 2 about the role of healthcare providers in DV and how they deal with it. Subsections will include: "benefits", "criticism", "victim's perspective".

California, Colorado, Rhode Island, and Kentucky are the only four states which have policies in place for healthcare providers to legally report cases or suspicions of domestic violence. Domestic violence continues to be heavily under reported and reasons for this may be lack of enforcement, lack of awareness, or lack of education. Healthcare providers are at the frontlines of coming in contact with victims of domestic abuse. Although child and elder abuse must be mandatorily reported in all 50 states by healthcare providers, domestic violence continues to raise controversy on whether this policy should be instituted.

Benefits Many people have argued for the implementation of a policy that requires healthcare providers to be mandatory reporters of domestic violence. Studies have shown that there are multiple benefits if this policy was initiated. In countries that incorporate mandatory domestic violence reporting in healthcare settings like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada there was a slight increase in identifying more cases of domestic violence by a mandatory routine screening. www.bmj.com/content/325/7359/314.short These policies can advocate for more awareness and reports of abuse cases. Further benefits with this policy may be that there is a higher chance for victims to be treated earlier before the situation escalates if it is caught early in the stages of abuse. There is also the speculation that if healthcare providers become mandatory reporters of domestic violence cases, there is a possible incentive for a decreased level of abuse cases because there’s a higher chance of detection. Women who have been abused before are 1.5 times more likely to be in favor of such a policy than those who have never been abused. This raises the question if the opinions of first hand victims should have a stronger impact than others because of their previous experiences.

Criticism Much criticism surrounds the idea of having a mandatory reporting policy for domestic violence. Many opponents argue that it is a violation of a women’s autonomy. A mandatory report policy would mean that a suspicion of domestic abuse would be reported to higher authorities regardless of the consent of the victim. Instilling a policy to mandatory report cases of domestic violence will also result in a compromise between the patient and provider confidentiality. This is true especially when the case is reported against the patient’s will. Therefore, there is the possibility that patients will be more reluctant to be open about their abuse and other medical problems. jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/194050 Endangering the patient’s autonomy was a high concern for women who were surveyed in an emergency department among abused and non-abused women. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379700002348. It is also unlikely for domestic abuse victims to report their abuse to healthcare providers and it is more likely for them to seek advice and help from family members or friends. In a battered outreach woman program in Florida, it was reported that only 2% of women resorted to reporting it to a medical doctor. link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022857022792 Many can argue that healthcare professionals are not on the priority list to be reported to about their abuse so there is no reason for this policy. Another big concern from victims against this policy is the fear of retaliation from the abuser. jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/194050 A common reason victims hesitate to report is in fear of their abuser. Other reasons to oppose this policy is that there is a mistrust of the legal system and that the enforcement will not be effective enough to punish the abuser.

Victim’s Perspective After plenty of studies, it can be confirmed that there is a clear divide among those who favor and oppose the policy but there are clear benefits and dangers of such a policy. Women who are abused are 1.5 times more likely to support a legal policy to have a routine screening for domestic abuse. [] On a phone conducted survey, 49% of the women stated that they would feel embarrassed or offended during a routine screening. In that population, 2/3 of the women said they would be more reluctant to report their abuse to healthcare providers under a mandatory screening policy. [] It is more likely for women who have never been abused to be more in favor of a mandatory report policy than women who have been abused before. In an emergency department survey, 92% of patients agreed that this would be an effective policy and were in favor but only 72% of patients who have never been abused were in agreement with the policy. Victims who were non English speakers were also found to be less compliant with such a policy possibly because of the fear of deportation or endangerment of their immigration status. jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/194050 A possible compromise may be that the mandatory report policy should be in place only if the patient’s consent is the ultimatum for whether healthcare providers should report to it to authorities. jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/194050