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Physical violence, considering it as any non accidental action that might cause physical damage, an illness or a risk for an illness.

Psychological violence, considering it as those acts or behaviors that might harm or hinder the affective context that is necessary for your normal psychological development, such as rejection, isolation, humiliation, threats or insults.

Sexual violence, as any activity aimed at the implementation of sexual acts against your will, painful or humiliating or abusing power, authority, deceit or ignorance in the case of minors.

Economic violence, including unequal access to economic resources to be shared, the right to property, education and jobs, rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Corruption, as deviant, antisocial or maladaptive conduct that prevent your social integration (inducing to delinquency or sexual exploitation).

Labor exploitation and begging are situations when by force or abuse of power a member of the family forces you to continuous jobs or activities that interfere in your normal development or exceed the limits of what is considered the norm according to your age, sex and developmental stage, or if they are humiliating or antisocial.

Call 911 for immediate assistance. Give your name and the address where you are at and ask for help. The police will send an officer. In the meantime, take precautions in order to protect yourself, your children and other family members that might be with you at the time.

In case of physical injuries, the Police will go with you to a hospital where they will write a medical report about your lesions.

The officers or a female police officer will take you to the closest police station where you will be able to report everything that happened.

The police officers will give you information of the social services available for you, different shelters and transitional homes where total safety and privacy is guaranteed. They can also go with you back to your house, in case there might me any danger to your integrity there.

The police officers will investigate and will elaborate a complete police report that will facilitate a speedy judicial action.

You must let the officers know if the aggressor has a weapon. If he/she has a weapon without a license, it will be taken away and if the weapon is licensed the aggressor will be asked to voluntarily give it up until the end of the process. If he/she refuses, Judicial Authorities will be contacted in order to revoke the license.

At the police station, victims will be received by a respectful officer and will be asked to file the report in the most factual and precise way possible including all the details relevant to the assault.

Complete filing:
- Current address and address of the place where you might be staying in the immediate future.
- Address or telephone number where you might be reached ay, in case of flight.
- Circumstances related to the filing of the domestic violence report.
- Time and Place
- Author and witnesses
- Circumstances and injuries suffered
- Medical assistance received
- Places where the author of the assault might be found
Family Situation:
- Marital status
- Type of relationship with partner
- Number of years living together
- Number of children, ages and relationship between them, the aggressor and the victim
- Any addiction the aggressor might have
- If the assaults are often and the type of assault
- If the children witness the assaults
Economic Situation:
- Who provides for the family
- If both are employed or only one
- Who owns the house or who is responsible of the lease
Background:

If the assaults are habitual giving the dates when attacked to determine how often they occur
Type of abuse (threats, lies, abuse of power)
When did the abuse begin
What caused the attacks in the past
If the aggressor has prior charges
If the aggressor has been charged or tried in the past for domestic violent acts
If there is an ongoing divorce trial or anything that might set these assaults

The members of the Police will adopt a few precautions in order to guarantee the victim’s physical integrity. They will escort you home or will accompany you to an emergency center or a shelter, if they consider this necessary to assure your safety.

They will also inform you of all the non profit organizations in the state and other social service agencies that might be able to help you.

If you are not able you call from your house for any reason, specially a safety precaution, leave this place, call 911 and then call us and provide us with information about your current location in order to provide the assistance you need, whether it is protection, guidance or translation. If you do not have a cell phone available, you can call us from any pay phone by dialing our free 800 number: 1-866-ASC 2825 or you can call our direct number 314-752-2272

Domestic Violence does not happen suddenly, the emotional situation builds up to that point. You should take precautions and always keep our phone numbers at hand. Always be aware of your location, so in the case of an emergency you will be able to call and give an address of where you can be found.
Women and men who are victims of intimate partner violence are also more likely to suffer from chronic health conditions and participate in risky behaviors, U.S. health officials report.

Every year in the United States, such violence accounts for some 1,200 deaths and 2 million injuries among women, and almost 600,000 injuries among men, according to new statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"One in four women and one of seven men experience physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime," said CDC epidemiologist Michele Black. "Those who experience intimate partner violence during their lifetime were also more likely to report a range of adverse health conditions and health risk behaviors."

In the study, Black's team gathered data on 70,156 men and women who participated in the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. These individuals completed the section of the survey on intimate partner violence. Responses came from people in 16 states and two territories.

The results of the survey are published in the Feb. 8 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a CDC publication.

The researchers found that the prevalence of intimate partner violence was significantly higher among women than men. In addition, it was more common among multiracial, non-Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska native women, and among women with low incomes.

However, intimate partner violence does appear to be on the decline overall, according to U.S. Department of Justice figures. In 1993, the rate of intimate partner violence was 9.8 per 1,000 women and 1.6 per 1,000 men. In 2005, both rates dropped, to 3.6 per 1,000 women and 0.9 per 1, 000 men.

The CDC report found that women who suffered from intimate partner violence were significantly more likely to have chronic health conditions and engage in risky behaviors. These chronic conditions did not, however, include diabetes, high blood pressure or being overweight.
But chronic illness associated with intimate partner violence among women did include high cholesterol and increased risk for HIV infection, according to the report.

Men who experienced intimate partner violence were more likely to use canes, crutches and wheelchairs and suffer from arthritis, asthma and stroke. In addition, these men have risk factors for HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases. They were also likely to smoke and drink heavily, the researchers found.

"This underscores the importance of intimate partner violence as a public health issue," Black said. "Health-care providers have the opportunity to assist survivors of intimate partner violence and address the health-related needs of these individuals and reduce their subsequent risks for negative affects."

One expert agreed with the findings but was concerned that lumping violence against men in with violence against women clouds the true picture of domestic violence.

"Beyond concerns for these data representing the true state of [intimate partner violence] and associated health concerns, this is certainly an important study," said Jay G. Silverman, director of Violence against Women Prevention at Harvard University School of Public Health.

What is a critical in examining these data is the notion of intimate partner violence as a public health issue, Silverman said. "Although women and girls suffer far higher rates of abuse, are far more likely to be injured, and far more likely to be killed by male partners than are men reporting abuse from women, there is a push from some professional quarters to equate these experiences and remove considerations of gender," he noted.

In many countries, data indicate that violence from husbands and other male partners exacts a terrible toll on the health of women and children, and is a major factor in the increasing "feminization" of the HIV epidemic across the United States, Africa and Asia, Silverman said.

"Hopefully, we as a country can overcome this desire to remove gender from our public health approach and join the rest of the world in focusing on the major threats posed by violence against women and girls from their male partners," Silverman said.

Children whose mothers experience severe abuse at the hands of an intimate partner are more likely to wind up in hospital emergency departments, and their increased risk may persist for up to three years after the abuse has ended, new research shows.

"It appears that even when the abuse ends, children's health and health care use may be continued to be affected," Dr. Megan H. Bair-Merritt of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, the study's lead investigator, told Reuters Health. "That has implications for how we think about designing screening and interventions for abused women and their children."

Bair-Merritt and her colleagues looked at data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being on more than 2,500 children whose families had been reported to Child Protective Services in 1999 and 2000 to investigate whether exposure to intimate partner violence would affect how frequently children went to the emergency department or were hospitalized. Mothers had reported whether or not they had been abused at the study's outset, and the surveyors had followed up with families 18 and 36 months later.

At both time points, the researchers report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, children whose mothers had reported being victims of severe intimate partner violence were about twice as likely as other children to have visited the emergency department.

"Understanding is still emerging about why these women are bringing their children to the emergency department," Bair-Merritt noted, pointing out that the data didn't show whether the children were brought there for preventive care, injuries, or other reasons.

Surprisingly, children who had been exposed to minor intimate partner violence were actually less likely to be hospitalized during the second time interval. This seemingly paradoxical finding could have been because these children were lost to the system, or perhaps they were more likely to get help, the researcher said. "There are many explanations, and they would all be hypotheses at this point."

She and her colleagues are planning additional studies to further investigate how exposure to domestic violence affects children's health, as well as the role of a mother's mental health in this relationship.

Whether or not you feel able to leave an abuser, there are things you can do to make yourself and your family safer.

Stay away from the kitchen (the abuser can find weapons, such as knives, there)
Stay away from bathrooms, closets or small spaces where the abuser can trap you
Get to a room with a door or window to escape
Get to a room with a phone to call for help; lock the abuser outside if you can
Call 911 (or your local emergency number) right away for help; get the dispatcher's name
Think about a neighbor or friend you can run to for help
If a police officer comes, tell him/her what happened; get his/her name & badge number
Get medical help if you are hurt
Take pictures of bruises or injuries
Call a domestic violence program or shelter (some are listed here); ask them to help you make a safety plan

Learn where to get help; memorize emergency phone numbers
Keep a phone in a room you can lock from the inside; if you can, get a cellular phone that you keep with you at all times
If the abuser has moved out, change the locks on your door; get locks on the windows
Plan an escape route out of your home; teach it to your children
Think about where you would go if you need to escape
Ask your neighbors to call the police if they see the abuser at your house; make a signal for them to call the police, for example, if the phone rings twice, a shade is pulled down or a light is on
Pack a bag with important things you'd need if you had to leave quickly; put it in a safe place, or give it to a friend or relative you trust
Include cash, car keys & important information such as: court papers, passport or birth certificates, medical records & medicines, immigration papers
Get an unlisted phone number
Block caller ID
Use an answering machine; screen the calls
Take a good self-defense course

Teach them not to get in the middle of a fight, even if they want to help
Teach them how to get to safety, to call 911, to give your address & phone number to the police
Teach them who to call for help
Tell them to stay out of the kitchen
Give the principal at school or the daycare center a copy of your court order; tell them not to release your children to anyone without talking to you first; use a password so they can be sure it is you on the phone; give them a photo of the abuser
Make sure the children know who to tell at school if they see the abuser
Make sure that the school knows not to give your address or phone number to ANYONE

Change your regular travel habits
Try to get rides with different people
Shop and bank in a different place
Cancel any bank accounts or credit cards you shared; open new accounts at a different bank
Keep your court order and emergency numbers with you at all times
Keep a cell phone & program it to 911 (or other emergency number)

Keep a copy of your court order at work
Give a picture of the abuser to security and friends at work
Tell your supervisors - see if they can make it harder for the abuser to find you
Don't go to lunch alone
Ask a security guard to walk you to your car or to the bus
If the abuser calls you at work, save voice mail and save e-mail
Your employer may be able to help you find community resources

Order the abuser to stay away from you or your children
Order the abuser to leave your home
Give you temporary custody of your children & order the abuser to pay you temporary child support
Order the police to come to your home while the abuser picks up personal belongings
Give you possession of the car, furniture and other belongings
Order the abuser to go to a batterers’ intervention program
Order the abuser not to call you at work
Order the abuser to give guns to the police

Show the judge any pictures of your injuries
Tell the judge that you do not feel safe if the abuser comes to your home to pick up the children to visit with them
Ask the judge to order the abuser to pick up and return the children at the police station or some other safe place
Ask that any visits the abuser is permitted are at very specific times so the police will know by reading the court order if the abuser is there at the wrong time
Tell the judge if the abuser has harmed or threatened the children; ask that visits be supervised; think about who could do that for you
Get a certified copy of the court order
Keep the court order with you at all times

Show the prosecutor your court orders
Show the prosecutor medical records about your injuries or pictures if you have them
Tell the prosecutor the name of anyone who is helping you (a victim advocate or a lawyer)
Tell the prosecutor about any witnesses to injuries or abuse
Ask the prosecutor to notify you ahead of time if the abuser is getting out of jail

Sit as far away from the abuser as you can; you don't have to look at or talk to the abuser; you don't have to talk to the abuser's family or friends if they are there
Bring a friend or relative to wait with you until your case is heard
Tell a bailiff or sheriff that you are afraid of the abuser and ask him/her to look out for you
Make sure you have your court order before you leave
Ask the judge or the sheriff to keep the abuser there for a while when court is over; leave quickly
If you think the abuser is following you when you leave, call the police immediately
If you have to travel to another State for work or to get away from the abuser, take your protection order with you; it is valid everywhere

To find out about help in your area, call our
Domestic Violence Hotline:
1-866-ASC-2825
1-866-272-2825