October 2008

Introduction

This knowledge path has been compiled by the Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University. It presents a selection of current, high-quality resources about identifying and responding to domestic violence within the home and the community. A separate section lists resources for families. Other sections present resources about children exposed to domestic violence; dating violence among adolescents; and violence between gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender partners. This knowledge path is aimed at health professionals, program administrators, policymakers, advocates, researchers, employers, and victims of abuse and their families. This path will be updated periodically.

Please note: Current literature about domestic violence uses a variety of terms including "domestic violence," "intimate partner violence," "spouse abuse," "battering," and "dating violence." The terminology used in this knowledge path follows the usage of the source being described.

Resources for Professionals

Overview

See Understanding intimate partner violence (2006) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This fact sheet documents the occurrence of intimate partner violence; briefly describes its physical, psychological, social, and economic consequences; and outlines prevention strategies.

Web Sites

• American Bar Association (ABA): Commission on Domestic Violence. Contains resources for attorneys, health professionals, and others concerned about domestic violence and safety planning. Resources include policy statements, training information, consumer-education materials, and charts that summarize statutes from all 50 states regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, and human trafficking. ABA's initiatives include the National Teen Dating Violence Prevention Initiative and the Legal Assistance for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Victims of Domestic Violence.
  
  
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Violence Against Women. Contains resources for health professionals about domestic violence and sexual assault that include patient-education materials, screening tools, and contact information for state coalitions.
  
  
• Asian and Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence. Offers reports, directories, translated materials, statistics, and other resources about domestic violence in Asian and Pacific Islander communities. The institute comprises a national network that works to raise awareness, expand leadership and expertise, and promote culturally relevant resources in Asian and Pacific Islander communities about domestic violence. Recent publications include

  Engendering change: Transforming gender roles in Asian and Pacific Islander communities. (2007). [Report].

  Framing batterer accountability in the context of our work as advocates: Issues and questions. (2006). [Presentation].

  Gender violence in Asian and Pacific Islander communities: Perspectives and strategies, rev. ed. (2007). [Report].

  National directory of Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander domestic violence agencies, rev. ed. (2008).

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Offers programs and initiatives about domestic violence that include

  CDC's Division of Reproductive Health: Violence and Reproductive Health. Provides background information and links to research related to violence that is associated with pregnancy-related illness, injury, and death. Includes a screen show lecture presentation.

  CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC): Intimate Partner Violence Prevention. Contains scientific and program information about intimate partner violence. Presents definitions, data sources, risk and protective factors, consequences, prevention strategies, and strategies for distributing prevention information and ensuring widespread adoption of prevention principles and strategies within communities. Recent publications include

  • Intimate partner violence and sexual violence victimization assessment instruments for use in healthcare settings: Version 1. (2007).
    
    
  • Measuring intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration: A compendium of assessment tools. (2006).

  Also see CDC's adolescent-dating-violence-prevention initiative, Choose Respect.

• Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence (CAEPV). Offers fact sheets, statistics, and articles about partner violence and about reducing the costs and consequences of partner violence at work. Describes corporate programs and policies that set the standard for how companies can handle this sensitive issue. CAEPV is an alliance of companies dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence by leveraging the strength and resources of the corporate community.
  
  
• Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF). Contains a wealth of resources about domestic violence for health professionals, policymakers, employers, advocates, the legal community, and victims of abuse. FVPF educates and advocates nationally and internationally to prevent violence within the home and in the community and to help those whose lives are devastated by abuse. Programs focus on children, health, immigrant women, international trafficking of women and girls, judicial education, public education, public policy, adolescent dating violence, and workplace issues. Resources include fact sheets, reports, training materials, assessment tools, public-education materials, legislative news, and an electronic journal. Recent publications and initiatives include

  Beyond observation: Considerations for advancing domestic violence practice in supervised visitation. (2007). [Report].

  Business case for domestic violence programs in health care settings. (2007). [Presentation and tool].

  Fathering after violence: Working with abusive fathers in supervised visitation. (2007). [Guide].

  Intersection of domestic violence and sexual and reproductive health (2008). [Audiofiles from a roundtable discussion hosted by FVPF and the Guttmacher Institute].

  kNOwMORE. Presents information about this initiative to create a dialogue among health professionals, policymakers, and young women about the reproductive health consequences of sexual coercion and violence. Includes fact sheets and resources to assist health professionals in identifying and helping clients in need. Also features a blog and space for women who have experienced abuse to share their stories.

  Making the connection: Domestic violence and public health, rev. ed. (2005). [PowerPoint presentation and guide].

  Reproductive health posters. (2008).

  Reproductive health pregnancy wheel, rev. ed. (2008).

  Reproductive health safety cards. (2008).

  Steps toward safety: Improving systemic and community based responses for families experiencing domestic violence. (2007). [Report].

  Working with Men and Boys to Prevent Gender-Based Violence. Offers training materials, case studies, fact sheets, and community-building tools for working with males to prevent gender-based violence.

• Greenbook Initiative. Presents program information, tools, and resources about effective intervention in domestic violence and child maltreatment cases. Includes recommendations for child welfare agencies, domestic violence service providers, and family courts for improving policies and practices and enhancing coordination to better serve families in need. A selection of recent resources includes

  Community self-assessment tool: For agencies addressing the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child maltreatment. (2007).

  Greenbook Initiative final evaluation report. (2008).

• Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community. Presents program information and publications about domestic violence among African Americans. Recent publications include

  Concepts in creating culturally responsive services for supervised visitation centers. (2007). [Report].

  Domestic violence and prisoner reentry: Experiences of African American women and men. (2006). [Report].

• Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA). Contains information about and links to domestic violence resources including curricula, published research, funding sources, training tools, experts and organizations, and multimedia resources. Topics include child exposure to domestic violence, adolescent dating violence, violence against women with disabilities, domestic violence in the military, domestic violence in racial and ethnic communities, and same-sex domestic violence. MINCAVA is located at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work.
  
  
• National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC). Includes program information and resources, such as statistics, reports, bibliographies, and outreach materials on topics that include violence against women, dating violence, stalking, and parallel justice for victims of crime. NCVC serves victims of all types of crime with resources and a toll-free hotline.   NCVC also provides public policy advocacy, training, and technical assistance to victim-service organizations, counselors, attorneys, criminal justice agencies, and service providers.
  
  
• National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence (NCDSV). Provides training information and a resource library of reports and articles to encourage collaboration among professionals working to end domestic and sexual violence. Topics include domestic violence involving military personnel. NCDSV is a national organization helping a myriad of professionals in the criminal justice, legal, health, education, military, and social work communities who work with victims and perpetrators.
  
  
• National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL). Contains fact sheets, articles, resource lists, and other publications about domestic violence in later life. NCALL is hosted by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
  
  
• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). Provides domestic-violence-related resources for advocates and victims of abuse on topics such as reproductive health and pregnancy, children and custody, and women with disabilities who experience domestic violence. Includes a state coalition list and domestic violence facts by state. NCADV is a national membership organization of individuals and grassroots organizations.
  
  
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS): Domestic Violence. Contains links to facts, statistics, conference information, and publications about domestic violence. Also see the NCJRS Abstracts Database. NCJRS is a federally funded resource focusing on crime- and justice-related research, policy, and practice.
  
  
• National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence (Alianza). Offers reports, brochures, fact sheets, and resource lists in English and Spanish about domestic violence affecting Latino communities. Alianza represents a national network of Latina and Latino advocates, service providers, researchers, community activists, and survivors of domestic violence. Recent publications include

  On the road to social transformation: Utilizing cultural and community strengths to end domestic violence. (2007). [Report].

  Working with men and boys to end domestic violence. (2007). [Position paper].

• National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). Includes federal legal and legislative news and information, program descriptions, state domestic violence coalition contact information, and other resources. NNEDV advocates for domestic violence victims and support programs in Congress, the executive branch, and federal courts. Recent resources and initiatives include

  Campaign for funding to end domestic and sexual violence: FY 2009 appropriations briefing book. (2008).

  Domestic violence counts: A 24-hour census of domestic violence shelters and services across the United States. (2007). [Report].

  National Safe & Strategic Technology Project (Safety Net). Presents tools and information to educate victims of domestic and sexual violence, their advocates, and the general public on strategic ways to use technology to help victims escape abusive relationships. Safety Net also trains police officers and prosecutors on how to identify and hold perpetrators accountable for misusing technology.

• National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women (VAWnet). Presents an electronic library of resources to support domestic-violence prevention, education, intervention, and public policy. Topics include adolescent dating violence. VAWnet is a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition to an electronic newsletter, recent resources include

  Child custody and visitation decisions in domestic violence cases: Legal trends, risk factors, and safety concerns. (2007). [Report].

  Marital rape: New research and directions. (2006). [Report].

  Religion and domestic violence: Information and resources. (2007). [Information packet].

  When battered women stay: Advocacy beyond leaving. (2008). [Paper].

• Nursing Network on Violence Against Women, International (NNVAWI). Contains abuse-assessment tools and research information about violence against women. NNVAWI aims to eliminate violence by advancing nursing education, practice, research, and public policy.
  
  
• Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). Contains grant and program information, information about federal legislation, and other resources to raise awareness and support training and services that respond to incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. OVW is part of the Department of Justice. Resources and initiatives include

  National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women. Presents information and reports about this joint effort between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address the crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking.

  President's Family Justice Center Initiative (PFJCI). Presents information about this pilot program to plan, develop, and establish comprehensive domestic violence victim service and support centers in 15 communities across the country. Publications include

  • President's Family Justice Center Initiative best practices overview. (2007). [Report].

  Toolkit to End Violence Against Women. Provides guidance to communities, policy leaders, and individuals engaged in activities to end violence against women. Each section focuses on a particular audience or environment and includes recommendations for strengthening prevention efforts and improving services and advocacy for victims.

  OVW publications are listed in the NCJRS Abstracts Database.

• Online Domestic Violence Training Program. Offers eight online training units intended to provide social workers with basic knowledge about domestic violence. Each unit is followed by a quiz. Also included are a manual, a bibliography, and guidelines for finding a counselor. This program is offered by the Simmons College School of Social Work.

Additional Electronic Publications

• Ablorh-Odjidja A, Clark C, Cox E. 2008. Intimate partner violence among pregnant and parenting women: Local health department strategies for assessment, intervention, and prevention. Washington, DC: National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). This issue brief illustrates the public health importance of intimate partner violence among pregnant women and highlights four local health departments that have integrated screening and violence prevention activities into existing services for women of childbearing age.
  
  
• Browne-Miller A. 2007. Making the case for domestic violence prevention through the lens of cost-benefit: A manual for domestic violence prevention practitioners (and the state and local policy-makers they present to). San Rafael, CA: Transforming Communities: Technical Assistance, Training & Resource Center (TC-TAT). This manual is designed to help domestic-violence-prevention professionals make the case that their prevention programs are valuable and worthy of public and private investment.
  
  
• Campbell JC. 2007. Danger assessment, rev. ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. This tool is designed to help women assess the danger of homicide in situations of abuse and to train domestic-violence advocates, law-enforcement members, and health professionals in measuring and warning about danger levels. The tool is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French Canadian.
  
  
• Campbell JC, Furniss KK. 2003. AWHONN's universal screening for domestic violence, 2nd. ed. Washington, DC: Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). This training package is designed to educate health care professionals about identifying and treating victims of domestic volence. The CD-ROM includes a slide and script presentation, bibliography, resource lists, screening tools, program evaluation, and CE application materials. Order online for $69.95.
  
  
• Catalano SM. 2006. Intimate partner violence in the United States. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. This report presents nationwide statistics about violence between current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends, including those in same-sex relationships.
  
  
• Government Accountability Office (GAO). 2006. Prevalence of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office (GAO). This report addresses the extent to which national data-collection efforts report the prevalence of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking among men, women, youth, and children.
  
  
• Government Accountability Office (GAO). 2006. Military personnel: Progress made in implementing recommendations to reduce domestic violence, but further management action needed. Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office (GAO). This report discusses the ability of the Department of Defense (DOD) to report on domestic-violence incidents and disciplinary actions, the resources DOD has provided to implement the recommendations, and DOD's specific actions to ensure victim confidentiality and the education of commanding officers, senior enlisted personnel, and chaplains.
  
  
• Government Accountability Office (GAO). 2007. Services provided to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office (GAO). This report focuses on the reasons uniform and reliable demographic data by type of service might not be available for services provided to victims by federal grant recipients under the Violence Against Women Act, the Victims of Crime Act, and Family Violence Prevention Services Act. The report focuses on 11 federal grant programs that are authorized under these three statutes and addresses the types of data that grant recipients collected and reported related to services provided and the challenges federal departments and their grant recipients face in collecting and reporting information on victims receiving services by type of service.
  
  
• National Asian Women’s Health Organization (NAWHO). 2006. Breaking the silence: Preventing violence against Asian American women. San Francisco, CA: National Asian Women’s Health Organization. This three-module curriculum is intended to promote communication among Asian-American female college students and campus staff about sexual violence and intimate partner violence. The curriculum is designed to educate Asian women about definitions of sexual violence and intimate partner violence, strategies for prevention, and opportunities for social change.
  
  
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 2007. Intimate partner violence: Encouraging disclosure and referral in the primary care setting. New York, NY: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This report focuses on detection and management of intimate partner violence among women and adolescent girls in primary care settings.
  
  
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 2008. Intimate partner violence against women in New York City. New York, NY: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This report uses multiple health data sources to describe the scope of intimate partner violence among women in New York City, examine the unique case of intimate partner violence among pregnant women, and outline recommendations that stem from the findings.
  
  
• Office of the Surgeon General. 2008. Surgeon General's workshop on women's mental health. Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This report summarizes the views and issues addressed at a 2005 workshop about women's mental health. Topics include biological and development factors; special mental disorders; trauma, violence, and abuse; social stress factors and stigma; identification and intervention issues; treatment access and insurance; health system issues; and protective and resilience factors.
  
  
• Ooms, T, Boggess J, Menard A, Myrick M, Roberts P, Tweedie J, Wilson P. 2006. Building bridges between the healthy marriage, responsible fatherhood, and domestic violence programs: A preliminary guide. Washington, DC: Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). This guide summarizes the lessons learned at a conference that brought together leaders from the healthy marriage, responsible fatherhood, and domestic violence communities to discuss avenues for collaboration to promote the well-being of families and children. An issue brief accompanies the guide.
  
  
• Reuland M, Morabito MS, Preston C, Cheney J. 2006. Police-community partnerships to address domestic violence. Washington, DC: Community Oriented Policing Services. This publication highlights police-community partnerships around the country that can be replicated to better address domestic violence.
  
  
• Women's Healthcare Education Office (WHEO). 2005. Women's health care competencies for medical students: Taking steps to include sex and gender differences in the curriculum. Crofton, MD: Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO). This curriculum-building tool is designed to be a key resource for health professions educators to evaluate, improve, and integrate lessons in sex and gender differences in cardiovascular health, reproductive health, domestic violence, communication, counseling for lifestyle changes, public policy, and access to care. The competencies are intended to help address curricular gaps and redundancies in the current medical school curriculum and to ensure that students in the health professions, regardless of their future specialty choice, graduate with the skills and confidence necessary to care for women.

  

Databases

The databases listed below are excellent tools for identifying data, additional literature and research, and programs about domestic violence. Many of the entries below contain tips on how to use the databases efficiently. Please note that databases vary in how terms should be entered; for example, some require quotation marks and others don't. Enter search phrases as shown in bold below.

Data

• CDC's Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Data Sources. Presents a list of surveys, studies, and surveillance systems about intimate partner violence from the CDC and federal and non-federal sources.
  
  
• National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC™). Contains evidence-based health care quality measures and measure sets for physicians, hospitals, and health plans to evaluate and improve the quality of health care for patients. Type "domestic violence" in the search box to identify measures on the topic. The database is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
  
  
• Title V Information System (Title V IS). Contains data from annual Title V Block Grant applications and reports submitted by all 59 U.S. states and jurisdictions. To learn about states' efforts to address domestic violence, conduct two searches. Select Measurement and Indicator Data and go to the State Data section. First, select State Priority Needs Keyword Search and choose Keyword: Intentional/Unintentional Injuries and Population: Women. Click on Start Search to get your results. Next, go to Measurement and Indicator Data and select State Performance Measures. Click on Search by Keyword/Population. Select Keyword: Intentional/Unintentional Injuries and Population: Women. Click on Start Search to get your results. Title V IS is a service of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
  
  
• Also see the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) and the Child Trends Databank.
  

Literature and Research

• CAVNET (Communities Against Violence Network). Contains information about books, reports, articles, court opinions, Web sites, and other resources in the areas of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and rape. For a general search, click on Search CAVNET and enter "domestic violence" in the search box. See the Issue Directory for automatic searches of the database on specific topics. Part of CAVNET's Web site is available by paid subscription only. CAVNET is an international network of professionals and advocates working in the areas of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and rape.
  
  
• Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) Databases. Presents four databases with information about violence-related research and literature; curricula and videotapes; prevention, intervention, and treatment programs; and survey instruments for program evaluation. Domestic violence is a keyword used in each of the four databases. Each database also offers a keyword list for more refined searching. Click on a keyword on the list for an automatic search of the database. CSPV is a research center within the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
  
  
• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Presents systematic reviews of the effects of health care interventions internationally. Search for abstracts of the reviews by entering "domestic violence" OR "intimate partner violence" in the search box. Click on Search Reviews to get your results. Access to the full-text article requires a subscription. The database is published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international not-for-profit organization based in the United Kingdom.
  
  
• Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP). Contains information about federally funded biomedical research projects conducted at universities, hospitals, and other research institutions. Search CRISP to identify scientific concepts, emerging trends and techniques, or specific projects and investigators. Type domestic violence in the search term box of the Query Form and click on Phrase. Click on Submit Query to get your results. Narrow your search by selecting a grant activity, fiscal year, or state, or use the CRISP Thesaurus to identify additional search terms. The database is maintained by the Office of Extramural Research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
  
  
• Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE). Contains summaries of systematic reviews that have met strict quality criteria. Included reviews must be about the effects of interventions. Each summary also provides a critical commentary on the quality of the review. The database covers a broad range of health topics. To identify summaries, type "domestic violence" OR "intimate partner violence" in the search box. Click on Search to get your results. DARE is produced and maintained by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York.
  
  
• Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) Database. Presents information about journal articles, research reports, teaching guides, curricula, conference papers, and books covering all aspects of education-related issues. To identify resources on the topic, click on Advanced Search. Next to Search for, select Descriptors (from Thesaurus) and type "family violence" in the field next to it. Select a publication date range and click on Search to get your results. Use the ERIC Thesaurus to identify search terms for related searches. ERIC is sponsored by the Department of Education.
  
  
• Maternal and Child Health Library at the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH), Georgetown University. Maintains several databases to collect, manage, and disseminate knowledge about maternal and child health (MCH), with special emphasis on knowledge gained from initiatives and programs supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). The library's bibliographic database is

  MCHLine®. To identify library materials on the topic, type "domestic violence" in the keyword field of the database search form. To narrow your search, enter a single publication year or range of years. Click on Search to get your results.

  Maternal and Child Health Library also offers organizations and programs databases.
  

• National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Abstracts Database. Contains summaries of more than 195,000 criminal justice, juvenile justice, and substance abuse reports, articles, audiovisual products, and other resources from the United States and internationally. These resources include statistics, research findings, program descriptions, congressional hearing transcripts, and training materials. To identify items about domestic violence, enter "domestic violence" in the subject search field. Click on Search to get your results. NCJRS is administered by the Office of Justice Programs.
  
  
• National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC). Contains evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related materials for health professionals. Identify guidelines by selecting Detailed Search in the Search box. Enter "domestic violence" in the Keyword field. Click on Search to get your results.The database is an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
  
  
• National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) Library. This bibliographic database contains information about materials in the library collections of NSVRC and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). To identify materials about domestic violence, select Power Search under Additional Search Types. Select Subject under Select search type, and enter "domestic violence" in the field next to it. Click on Go to get your results.
  
  
• PubMed. Contains over 17 million citations for biomedical articles that date back to the 1950s. These citations are from MEDLINE and additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full-text articles and other related resources. To identify citations on the topic, enter the search phrase battered women OR spouse abuse OR (interpersonal relations AND violence) in PubMed. Then, click on Limits, and make the following selections on the page: select a date (e.g., Published in the last 2 years); click on Languages: English; and select Tag Terms: MeSH Major Topic. Click on Go to get your results. Add search terms (e.g., pregnancy) to further limit the search. Search MeSH, the controlled vocabulary used for indexing articles in MEDLINE/PubMed, to identify additional search terms. PubMed is a service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
  
  
• SafetyLit: Injury Prevention Abstracts Online. Provides abstracts of English-language reports and journal articles about preventing unintentional injuries, violence, and self-harm. The literature is drawn from the fields of anthropology, economics, education, engineering, ergonomics, law and law enforcement, medicine, physiology, psychology, public health, public safety, nursing, social work, traffic safety, and other fields. To identify literature about domestic violence, click on Link to the SafetyLit Archive Search Page. Enter the term domestic violence in the text word field, select a date limit, and click on View Abstracts. Conduct another search using the term, intimate partner violence. There will be some overlap in the abstracts identified by the two searches. Subscribe to the SafetyLit Update and receive a weekly e-mail notice about new additions to the database. SafetyLit is presented by the San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization.
  
  
• Also see the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA) and the National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women (VAWnet).
  

Programs

• Discretionary Grant Information System (DGIS). Contains financial, national performance measure, and abstract data collected annually from more than 900 grants issued by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). To find information on grants about domestic violence, click on Abstracts. Enter domestic violence in the search box and click on Exact Phrase. Click on Search to get your results. Conduct another search on the term, intimate partner violence; click on Exact Phrase; and click on Search to get your results.
  
  
• Health Services Research Projects in Progress (HSRProj). Provides information about ongoing health services research and public health projects. To identify projects on the topic, enter the search phrase battered women OR spouse abuse OR (interpersonal relations AND violence). Click on Search to get your results. HSRProj is funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
  
  
• Maternal and Child Health Library at the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH), Georgetown University. Maintains two databases to identify organizations and programs that focus on domestic violence:

  MCH Organizations Database. Lists over 2,000 government, professional, and voluntary organizations involved in MCH activities, primarily at a national level. To identify organizations that focus on domestic violence, type "domestic violence" in the keyword field of the database search form. Click on Search to get your results.

  MCH Projects Database. Comprises an online catalog of projects funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) through October 1, 2004. To identify projects about domestic violence, go to the database search form. Type "domestic violence" in the Abstract field. Click on Search to get your results. See MCHB's Discretionary Grant Information System (DGIS) for information on projects funded after October 1, 2004.

• USCM Best Practices Database. Contains information about successful practices of city governments across the country. Under Search by Best Practice Collection, select Domestic Violence. Best Practices is a service of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
  
  
• Also see the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) Databases and the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA).

  

Electronic Newsletters

• Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF): Family Violence Prevention and Health Practice e-Journal. Presents articles about the early identification, intervention, and prevention of family violence to improve the health, safety, and quality of care for survivors.
  
  
• National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women: VAWnet e-Newsletter. Presents updates on new electronic resources about violence against women.
  
  
• Also see SafetyLit.

  

Resources for Victims and Families

Hotlines

• National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC). Offers a hotline for information and referrals to local services for victims of all types of crime. Information is available in more than 180 languages. Telephone: (800) 394-2255 (FYI-CALL); (800) 211-7996 (TDD).
  
  
• National Domestic Violence Hotline. Offers crisis intervention, safety planning, information about domestic violence, and referrals to local services to victims of domestic violence and those calling on their behalf. Telephone: (800) 799-7233 (799-SAFE); (800) 787-3224 (TDD).
  
  
• National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. Offers teens experiencing dating abuse support and resource referrals by a trained peer advocate 24 hours a day. Telephone: (866) 331-9474; (866) 331-8453 (TDD). Or, chat online from 4:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., CST.
  
  
• Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN): Get Help Now. Operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, which provides free, confidential counseling 24 hours a day in partnership with rape crisis centers across the country. Telephone: (800) 656-4673 (HOPE). The hotline also offers an online interface. Or, search by state or zip code to find a local crisis center.

  

Web Sites for Victims and Families

• American Bar Association (ABA): Commission on Domestic Violence. Presents safety tips in English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese as well as guides to finding a lawyer and legal rights.
  
  
• Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF). Presents fact sheets, safety plans, and personal stories.

  Supervised visitation: Information for mothers who have been abused. (2007). [Guide].

• MedlinePlus: Domestic Violence. Gives links to information in English, Spanish, Arabic, Bosnian, Russian, and Somali.
  
  
• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). Gives information about getting help, safety plans, workplace safety, hiring an attorney, Internet safety, and protecting your identity. Presents a set of fact sheets on topics that include abuse in later life, reproductive health and pregnancy, children and custody, dating violence, and women with disabilities who experience domestic violence.
  
  
• womenshealth.gov: Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence. Offers information in English and Spanish. Includes a safety planning list.
  
  
• WomensLaw.org. Presents legal information and online support for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
  
  
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 2007. How to keep yourself safe: Intimate partner violence. (2007). New York, NY: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This bulletin focuses on how intimate partner violence can happen to anyone, power and control, health effects of abuse, knowing what to do, and resources.
  
  
• Also see the fact sheet, Understanding intimate partner violence (2006).
  
  
• Note: Many of the resources presented in the following sections of this knowledge path contain resources for victims and families.

  

Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

• Child Welfare Information Gateway: Domestic Violence Services. Includes resources about children exposed to domestic violence and the co-occurrence of child maltreatment and domestic violence. Resources address research, casework practice, cultural considerations, working with the courts, integrating child welfare and domestic violence systems and programs, and prevention. The gateway is a service of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
  
  
• Family Violence Prevention Fund: Children and Domestic Violence. Presents program information and resources about preventing domestic violence and its negative impact on children and adolescents. Recent resources include

  Community partnerships for protecting children: Lessons about addressing domestic violence. (2006). [Report].

  Creating safety and stability for children exposed to family violence: A working paper for family to family sites. (2006).

• Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA): Child Exposure to Domestic Violence. Contains information about and links to published research, training tools, experts and organizations, and Web sites. Initiatives include

  Child Exposure to Domestic Violence (CEDV) Scale. Presents a tool and background materials for professionals and researchers to use with children exposed to domestic violence.

  Making the Link: Promoting the Safety of Battered Women and Children Exposed to Domestic Violence. Presents information about a series of studies of families in which mothers are abused and children are either abused or exposed to their mothers' abuse.

• National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Provides resources for families, professionals, schools, and the media about child and adolescent traumatic stress and effective interventions. Includes information and resources about children exposed to domestic violence. Some materials are available in Spanish. NCTSN aims to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children and adolescents, their families, and communities throughout the United States. NCTSN is funded by the Center for Mental Health Services and jointly coordinated by Duke University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
  
  
• Anda R. 2006. Health and social impact of growing up with alcohol abuse and related adverse childhood experiences: The human and economic costs of the status quo. Rockville, MD: National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACOA). This paper presents findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, a decade-long, ongoing study designed to examine the childhood origins of many health and social problems. The paper describes the study design and discusses the interrelatedness of ACEs. Types of ACEs discussed include abuse, neglect, household dysfunction, and domestic violence. The relationship of ACE scores to alcohol consumption, risk factors for HIV and AIDS, smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; depression and suicide attempts; worker performance; and health care costs are examined.
  
  
• Jellinek M, Patel BP, Froehle MC, eds. 2002. Bright Futures in practice: Mental health. (2 v.). Arlington, VA: National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health. This guide contains information on mental health promotion and substance-use prevention for infants, children, and adolescents from birth through age 21. It is designed to inform primary care pediatric health professionals about the essentials of mental health promotion; to identify the support that infants, children, and adolescents need for good mental health; and to assist in the development and implementation of mental-health-promotion programs and policies. A chapter is devoted to the role of the primary care physician in identifying domestic violence and working with families in which domestic violence has occurred.
  
  
• Middlebrooks JS, Audage NC. 2008. Effects of childhood stress on health across the lifespan. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. This report summarizes research on childhood stress and its implications for adult health and well-being. In particular, the report focuses on stress caused by child abuse, child neglect, and repeated exposure to intimate partner violence.
  
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