Identifying and Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) in Pregnancy Archives

What is domestic violence and abuse and how common is it?

Different agencies and governments have different definitions of domestic violence and abuse (DVA). We will focus on three here before looking at the prevalence of DVA generally as well as …

Midwives are not immune

Domestic violence and abuse affects professionals including midwives and others working in maternity services. Aside from co-creating this course, Dr Sally Pezaro has also worked in partnership with the Royal …

Introduction

This course, introduced in the video above, uses a research-inspired teaching framework to translate evidence on domestic violence and abuse (DVA) into education. It is intended for health professionals working …

Course summary

We have now reached the end of this research-inspired short course. We hope it has inspired you. Can you think of anyone else who might benefit from taking this course? …

Disclosure of Rape or Sexual Assault

Intimate partner perpetrated sexual violence is a neglected aspect of DVA (Tarzia, 2020) and yet it is one of the most damaging. A study based on a secondary analysis of …

Safety Planning for Pregnant Domestic Violence Victims

Safety plans must be made in collaboration with the pregnant person; disempowering someone at this point could lead to disengagement with the support process altogether. Sensitively introducing a safety plan …

Limits of care

It is important to recognise the limits of care delivered by clinicians/health professionals. It is not the responsibility of staff to solve violence-related issues, address all violence-related needs or to …

Ensuring the safety of pregnant women

Establishing safety in pregnant women The woman or birthing person has disclosed and you have validated their experiences and difficulties. Before the consultation comes to a close, it is imperative …

Validate the person’s experiences

The woman/birthing person has disclosed to you that they have been exposed to abuse at the hands of their partner (or ex-partner): what can be offered next? Drawing on the …

Review of the week

This week, we have explored definitions of domestic violence and abuse along with the maternal and foetal risks, outcomes and impacts associated with DVA in pregnancy. In addition to consequences, …

Barriers to Disclosure in Domestic Violence

When healthcare providers have insight into and empathy for the complex factors that prevent disclosure of DVA, they are more likely to create the conditions that allow a person to …

Guidance on Domestic Abuse Questioning

We will now further examine what is involved in the inquiry aspects of the LIVES approach (WHO, 2014). Fundamentally, the framing and use of direct questions can be an effective …

Disclosure and non-disclosure

Here we are talking specifically about two situations: where DVA has been disclosed, and where DVA has not been disclosed but is suspected. The women/birthing persons discloses an experience of …

Domestic Violence Screening Tools

There are several ‘screening’ tools used in healthcare settings. The HITS (see below) is an example of one such instrument, originally developed and validated for use in family practice clinics. …

Ensuring equitable care for all survivors of domestic abuse

Seminal work by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989) on how different minority identities or statuses such as race, sex and class crossover to create and perpetuate inequality informs our understanding about barriers …

Course: Identifying and Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) in Pregnancy

Identifying and Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) in Pregnancy