Characteristics of Women Presenting at the Emergency Department Who Choose Not to Disclose Being Subjected to Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Literature suggests that some women refrain from disclosing being subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV) upon their contact with the health care system. Such disclosure becomes critical when the violence compels women to seek urgent medical care. The purpose of the present study was to compare characteristics of women who disclose and women who do not disclose being subjected to domestic violence, when presenting at the Emergency Department (ED). In this chart review study, characteristics of 56 randomly sampled women who disclosed and 50 who did not disclose being subjected to domestic violence, when presenting at the ED in a medical center located in central-northern Israel between 2015 and 2018, were compared. It was found that women who did not disclose were more likely to be pregnant, legally defined as helpless, and dependent on others to some extent. In addition, they were more likely to be hospitalized, which may indicate a more severe injury, and were more likely to have been subjected to psychological abuse or neglect alone. A trauma informed approach should guide specific interventions with a focus on women with these characteristics in the ED, in order to facilitate their disclosure of IPV.