BIAA Recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October 1, 2021
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Over recent years, we have made remarkable progress in increasing awareness of brain injury and improving prevention, diagnosis, and treatment; however, there is a major segment of the brain injury community that receives little attention: survivors who sustained their injuries as a result of domestic violence.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in three adults have experienced domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV includes physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, and psychological aggression. Victims of IPV may experience traumatic brain injury resulting from blows to the head or acquired brain injury from strangulation.
While domestic violence was already an epidemic before COVID-19, the health crisis caused a tremendous spike in incidents of abuse last year. Increased isolation, social distancing, and shut downs made a difficult situation even worse for victims of IPV.
Join us in raising awareness of domestic violence as a cause of brain injury throughout the month of October. You can use hashtag #DVAM2021 on social media and share the information and resources below.
IPV Information & Resources
- Invisible Injuries: Brain Injuries Caused by Domestic Violence
- The Ohio Domestic Violence Network: Center on Partner-Inflicted Brain Injury
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Intimate Partner Violence
- For Providers: Domestic Violence and Brain Injury in the Era of COVID-19
- For Providers: Understanding Domestic Violence as a Cause of TBI
If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or chat at thehotline.org for free, confidential help and information on your local domestic violence program.
