Violence makes you sick!
Violence has consequences for the health of individuals and for society. Physical injuries, psychological traumatisation, impairment of life plans and opportunities on the labour market and an increase in the risk of poverty are consequences of violence that impair the health-related quality of life of those who have experienced violence. We ask about the frequency and consequences of violence, about possibilities of prevention and effective strategies of professional help.
- One focus is to explore how health care can offer a way out for those affected by recognising, addressing and documenting violence in a way that can be used in court, as well as targeted referral to the help sector, and how, for example, violence against those in need of care and against care workers can be prevented in the care sector.
- A second focus is to understand the emergence of interpersonal violence, e.g. in first love relationships of young people, and to develop effective prevention strategies.
- A third focus is the prevention of violence in care.
- From the end of 2019, the topic of "violence in the context of obstetrics" will be taken up as a new focus.
Web pages of the working group
For health professionals:
Information and tools for recognising, documenting and acting on suspicions of violence can be found on the following website: www.befund-gewalt.de
For young people:
Information on first love relationships, possible problems and crossing boundaries: www.was-geht-zu-weit.de
- Boundary violations and violence in teenage relationships are not a rare phenomenon in Germany either. They have a negative impact on health-related quality of life. Prevention must take place in the living environments of young people and this also includes the internet. So far, there is insufficient evidence of effectiveness.
- Prevention of Teen Dating Violence is considered an important form of primary prevention of partner violence. However, the almost gender-symmetrical prevalences among adolescents compared to the clear gender asymmetry in partner violence are an indication that correlations are not yet well understood. Too little is known about the contexts of transnational behaviour among young people.
- People who are dependent on other people in their everyday lives need outside help to improve their living situation. If they are given no support or negative support, there is a risk of demoralisation and thus serious damage to mental health and emotional well-being.
- Women are more likely to seek institutional support when they have suffered severe violence. In these cases, they also often come into contact with the health care system, especially with family doctors and emergency rooms. In Hesse, the documentation of the consequences of violence by treating physicians, which can be used in court, is politically desired, but in practice is often not ensured.
- Health professionals have special access to victims of violence, e.g. in nursing. They can recognise, address and document violence and provide or mediate help. However, there are uncertainties in dealing with victims of violence, which prevent successful prevention and intervention. Training concepts and materials have been sufficiently developed, but without structural changes in health care that make the prevention of violence an explicit mandate, training alone will not have sufficient effect.
- Coordinating support for people affected by violence is a complex task. Competence centres could take over this task permanently and support the health care system in documenting the consequences of violence in a way that can be used in court.
| Prof. Dr Beate Blättner | Health Promotion |
| Prof. Dr. Daphne Hahn | Health Sciences and Empirical Social Research |
| Prof. Dr. Henny Annette Grewe | Medical basics of nursing |
| Prof. Dr. Gamze Güzel-Freudenstein | Medicine with a focus on social medicine and occupational medicine |
| Prof. Dr. Margit Christiansen | Management in Health Care with a Focus on Human Resources |
| Prof. Dr. Nina Fleischmann | Nursing Science |
| Stefanie Freytag | Research Assistant |
| Lieselotte Lieding | Teaching assistant for special tasks |
| Alexandra Roth | Research assistant and doctoral candidate |
| Kristin Schultes | Research assistant, teacher for special tasks |