Healthcare

Domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking are critical public health issues worldwide — more prevalent for women than breast cancer and diabetes combined in the United States — and can have long lasting effects on women’s health and the well-being of families and communities:

• Pregnant women or those who have recently given birth are more likely to be murdered in the U.S. than die from obstetric causes — such as hypertensive disorders, hemorrhage, or sepsis — due to a deadly mix of domestic violence and gun violence.
• Survivors of domestic violence and children raised in violent households are more likely to experience physical and mental health conditions including frequent headaches, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Heart Disease, Hypertension, and Asthma.
• Human trafficking affects nearly 27.6 million people worldwide, including tens of thousands of people in the US. Involving involving individuals — mostly women and girls — being bought, sold, and forced into labor and/or sexual exploitation and has similar devastating health impacts as IPV

It is because of these devastating statistics that health care community can play a pivotal role in preventing and responding to violence and abuse. However, there was a time when health care providers routinely treated domestic violence survivors and then sent them right back home to face further abuse, without the ability to offer referrals or other help. When few OB/GYNs knew that pregnant women are at vastly elevated risk of homicide, often at the hands of a current or former partner. And when health care providers, who interact with human trafficking victims, were unaware that these crimes occur and were not prepared to respond to victims, survivors, and those at risk.

For over 30 years, FUTURES has led the National Health Initiative on Violence and Abuse, working across sectors to develop programs, research, and policies that respond to the unique health needs of survivors of violence, and prevent violence. Our goal has been to ensure the health care community can become not just allies, but leaders, in the work to end abuse. To support this change, we’ve created tools, trainings, and protocols that allow health care providers to support survivors of violence and trafficking, promote prevention, and advance health care access for all. Through deep partnerships between health and domestic violence programs, we advance local, state and national policies to advance holistic approaches to preventing and responding to violence.

We also promote survivor-centered and trauma-informed strategies to support the needs of survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Our National Health Initiative on Violence and Abuse includes:

• The National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence offers personalized technical assistance to healthcare providers, training, tools, and an online store where providers and advocates can order hard copies of safety cards, posters, and more for free (+ shipping).
• Health Partners on IPV + Exploitation builds the capacity of the healthcare community to respond to domestic and sexual violence, and bridge the gaps between advocates, health care professionals, and other community-based providers.
• Building Collaborative Responses to Human Trafficking, provides training and technical assistance to professionals from survivor support agencies, migrant groups, violence prevention, and law enforcement in order to advance best practices in preventing trafficking.
• Via a partnership with the UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware Family Resilience (UCAAN), is directing grants to California groups who are pioneering community-led strategies for healing and prevention from trauma, and connecting families exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACES) to benefits, services and community supports.
• Project NACES (No More Adverse Childhood Experiences), is focused on a community often overlooked: migrant farmworkers and their families.

Tens of thousands of health care staff, violence prevention advocates, health professionals and others receive education, technical assistance, or use our health materials each year implementing programs that improve the health and safety of survivors and promote prevention.  We’re very proud of how far we’ve come – and aware that there’s much more to do. You can join us! 

What do you want to know about our programs and resources?
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Would you like to order free materials for your health care or domestic violence program?
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