Woman oriented violence and the role of health personnel in solving the problem

Abstract

Violence, in the dictionary, means to do something to somebody or to make somebody do something against his/her will by using power and oppression. Violence, the history of which goes back to the existence of humanity, is a multi-dimensional concept seen in every walk of life. It is a truth revealed by many international documents that the bases of woman oriented violence are class differences, national and sexual differences. Woman oriented violence is a "community health problem" because of its frequency and its being widespread in the world and in our country. It is the untold "employee health problem" because of the fear of being fired or excluded, and it is the "family affair" for our women who are exposed to oral, physical and sexual violence in the family by their husbands or fathers. In order to prevent woman oriented violence altogether, it is not enough to make legal arrangements and to confine the measures with laws. An absolute team work is needed to detect the victims of family violence and to direct them in a suitable way. All the people who serve in this area should be informed about the dimensions of the subject and their information should be renewed with periodic training. With in-service training, physicians should be informed on giving sufficient importance to subjects such as examination, diagnosis and treatment, obtaining evidence, keeping secrets, reporting the offence, and organizing reports in accordance with the universal ethics rules.