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Women’s Health Contemporary Human Rights Issues. Martin Donohoe, M.D., F.A.C.P. Violence Against Women Overview. Definitions Epidemiology Sexual Assault/Rape Sequelae of Domestic Violence Recognition and Management The Developing World human rights abuses female genital cutting.
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Women’s HealthContemporary Human Rights Issues Martin Donohoe, M.D., F.A.C.P.
Violence Against WomenOverview • Definitions • Epidemiology • Sexual Assault/Rape • Sequelae of Domestic Violence • Recognition and Management • The Developing World • human rights abuses • female genital cutting
Violence Against WomenOverview • Teen Pregnancy • The Family/Single Motherhood/Child Care • Ideals of Beauty & the Historical Subjugation of Women • Abortion • Conclusions
Objective • Understand common forms of violence against women • Learn to recognize and manage violence against women • Exposure to national and international issues in women’s rights/reproductive health care
Definitions of Violence Against Women Individual: Any act of verbal or physical force, coercion, or life-threatening deprivation that causes physical or psychological harm, humiliation, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, or that perpetuates female subordination
Individual Violence Against Women(examples) • partner abuse • sexual assault/marital rape • forced prostitution • forced noncompliance with contraception • female genital cutting • slavery • unwanted sexting
Definitions of Violence Against Women Societal: Structural forms of discrimination or deprivation that affect women as a class
Societal Violence Against Women(examples) • poverty • impaired access to employment or education • divorce restrictions • salary inequalities • political marginalization • impaired access to reproductive health services
Epidemiology • Lifetime prevalence of assault/sexual abuse • 12% of adolescent girls • 15% of college women • 20% of adult women • 2 - 4 million women assaulted per year • every 15 seconds a woman is beaten • 5% of partner abuse is female on male • (homosexual/bisexual abuse also exists)
Epidemiology of VAW • 2011 CDC study: • 36% of women and 28% of men have experienced rape, physical violence, stalking, or all 3 by their significant other in their lifetimes
Epidemiology of VAW • 2011 CDC study • 18% of women have been raped; 1.4% of men • Women: 52% by partner; 41% by acquaintance • Men: 52% by acquaintance; 15% by stranger
Dating Violence in Adolescence and Young Adulthood • 1/3 of 7th grade girls report “psychological dating violence,” 1/6 report “physical dating violence” (2012) • One study (AJPH 2010;100:1737-1744) showed females more likely than males to be perpetrators (38% vs. 19%) • Study included physical violence, but not sexual violence, and did not consider violence not resulting in injuries • Males and females surveyed (under-reporting possible)
Prevalence of Domestic Violence • P-care • 1/4 women abused at some point in her life • 1/7 women abused within preceding 12 months • ER • 1/4 of women seeking care (any reason) • 35% of women treated for trauma
Prevalence of Domestic Violence • OB/Gyn • 1/6 women during pregnancy • Abortion Clinics • 12% • Peds • 50 - 70% of mothers of abused children
Prevalence of Domestic Violence • Psych • 1/4 women who attempt suicide • 1/4 women treated for psychiatric symptoms • 55% lifetime prevalence for women with depression
Abuse in Pregnancy • Incidence = 8 - 20% (lower than in non-pregnant women) • Most common sites of beating are abdomen, head and breasts • Increases risk of low birth weight/pre-term labor/delayed prenatal care • Post-partum depression • Higher risk for abuse and • Abuse increases risk of post-partum depression
High Risk Occupations: Prostitutes • 80% have been physically assaulted • 80% have been threatened with a knife, gun, or other weapon • 67% have been raped • 1/67 arrested per week in U.S. • 1/33 have sex with a police officer per week in U.S.
High Risk Occupations: Prostitutes • High rates of physical assault and abuse by police in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia • Some prostitutes overseas take furosemide to appear more thin/lose water weight
Prostitution in the U.S. • 0.6% of men admit to paying for sex in the last year • 17% at some point in their lives (actual percentage likely higher) • 694 “clients”/prostitute/year average
Prostitution in the U.S. • 1.6% of women admitted they “had sex with a person [they] paid, or who paid [them] for sex” since age 18 • Punishment varies among johns, prostitutes, pimps • Different types of regulation exist worldwide (see prostitution paper on website)
Sex Trafficking and Sex Tourism • Sex tourism common in SE Asia, Eastern Europe • 100,000 children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation in the US each year • Many malnourished forced to take dexamethasone (to gain weight) • Trafficking Victims Protection Act provides some protections
High Risk Occupations: The Military • See the “Women’s Health” and “War and Peace” pages of the Public Health and Social Justice website for other slide shows and articles covering: • Violence against women in the military • War, rape and genocide
High Risk GroupsRunaway and Homeless Youth • Survival sex • the exchange of sex for shelter, food, drugs or money • 28% of street youths, 10% of shelter youth (out of 1 - 2 million runaway adolescents/year) • association with violence, victimization, STDs, and pregnancy
“High Risk” Perpetrators • Male college athletes • constitute 3.3% of male student body • involved in 19% of sexual assaults • Fraternities • individual and gang rapes more common
Deaths from Domestic Violence • 4,000 domestic violence deaths/year • over 1/2 of women murdered in U.S. are killed by a current or former partner • 1/2 to 3/4 of the 1,000 - 1,500 murder suicides per year involve domestic violence
Victims Who Kill Their Abusers • Between 2,000 and 4,000 women imprisoned for murdering their abusers • Battered women who claim self-defense (the only legally justifiable reason for murder) in criminal trials are acquitted only 25% of the time • 63% of young men aged 11-20 serving time for homicide have killed their mother’s abuser
Race/SES and Domestic Violence • Seen in all age, race, and SES brackets • May be more common in African-American, but • confounders = lower SES, fewer resources, more likely to be seen in ER or to use public shelters • May be more common in Latinos, but • confounders = as above • However, more women hold more traditional ideas regarding spousal roles...
low self-esteem guilt self-blame denial traditional attitudes regarding women’s roles have children poor financial resources few job skills less education few friends history of childhood abuse Common Characteristics ofAbuse Victims
Common Characteristicsof Abusers • low self-esteem • dependency • jealousy • poor communication skills • unemployed/underemployed
Common Characteristicsof Abusers • abuse alcohol/other drugs • have witnessed or experienced abuse as children • If immigrants, are more likely to have been victims of political violence • abuse their own children
Men with Restraining Orders • 75% have criminal record • 50% have history of violent crime • 15% violated R.O. over 6 months • 30% arraigned for a violent crime over 6 months
Child Abuse • seen in 1/3 - 1/2 of families where partner abuse occurs • in one 3 month study of 146 children who witnessed partner abuse • all sons over age 14 attempted to protect their mothers • 62% were physically injured in the process
Children and Partner Abuse • Children witness up to 85% of episodes of partner abuse • child abuse • Children of abuse victims show decrements in academic and emotional development and are more likely to become abusers themselves
Rape • Unwanted, forced penetration (oral/vaginal/anal) • Reported by 33 -46% of women who are physically abused • Annual incidence ³ 80/100,000 women • 7% of all violent crimes • Lifetime prevalence up to 25% • 1/3 Native Americans/Alaskan Natives victims of attempted rape or rape • Migrants, those in war zones and refugee camps at high risk
Rape • Underreported • Less than 1% of rapists convicted • Large backlog of untested rape kits (over 180,000) • H.R. 4114 and S.B 2376 (Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault) bills pending in Congress
Rape • Average prison time for those convicted: • rape = 1 year • armed robbery = 3 - 5 years • murder = 8 years • Chemical Castration Laws
Date Rape • 40% of college women report forced sexual contact, attempted rape, or completed rape • most common: ignoring victims’ protests • independent of school demographics - >25% of college males admit to using sexually coercive behaviors • 2/3 of college males report engaging in unwanted sexual intercourse • reasons: peer pressure, desire to be liked
Spousal Rape • occurs in 10 - 15% of all marriage • more violent, less frequently reported then non-spousal rape • not illegal in many U.S. states/other countries
Rape • 5% chance of pregnancy • 25% chance of acquiring STD • GC = 6 - 12% • Chlamydia = 4 - 17% • Syphillis = 0.5 - 3%
Rape and HIV • 1 -2/1,000 odds of acquiring HIV from HIV+ rapist • 1-2/100,000 overall risk of HIV from vaginal penetration • 2-3/10,000 from anal penetration
Rape and Pregnancy • Noninvasive prenatal genetic testing through amplification of fetal alleles from maternal blood very accurate for identifying father • Can be performed at 8-14 weeks gestation • vs. amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (10-15 weeks, risks to mother and fetus) • May assist mother’s decision to carry vs. terminate pregnancy
The Physician’s Duties in Caring for Victims of Sexual Assaults • Medical • obtain medical history • evaluate and treat physical injuries • obtain cultures • treat any pre-existing infection NEJM 1995; 332:234-7 and NEJM 2011;365:834-41
The Physician’s Duties in Caring for Victims of Sexual Assaults • Medical • offer post-exposure HIV and hepatitis B prophylaxis • offer post-coital contraception (vs. in utero paternity testing f/b selective abortion) • arrange medical followup • provide counseling NEJM 1995; 332:234-7 and NEJM 2011;365:834-41
Physical Examination ofSexual Assault Victims • Collection of clothing • External/internal evaluation • abrasions, lacerations, ecchymoses, bite marks; colposcopy, toluidine blue staining • Oral cavity • secretions, injuries, collection of samples for culture • Note: time limits for evidence collection vary by state (72-120 hrs) NEJM 1995; 332:234-7 and NEJM 2011;365:834-41
Physical Examination ofSexual Assault Victims • Genitalia • hair combing, hair sampling, vaginal secretions, collection of samples for culture, injuries • Rectum • injuries, collection of samples for culture NEJM 1995; 332:234-7 and NEJM 2011;365:834-41
Prophylaxis for Adult Victims ofSexual AssaultAntibiotic Prophylaxis • Ceftriaxone (250 mg IM) or cefixime (2 g po) PLUS • Doxycycline (100 mg po bid x 7d) or Azithromycin (1 g po x 1) PLUS • Metronidazole ( 2 g po x 1)
Prophylaxis for Adult Victims ofSexual AssaultPrevention of Pregnancy • Most effective oral regimen: 1 dose of 30 mg ulipristal or 1.5 mg levonorgestrel within 120 hours of unprotected intercourse (ulipristal twice as effective; 0.9% pregnancy rate vs 1.7%)
Prophylaxis for Adult Victims ofSexual AssaultPrevention of Pregnancy • Alternate regimen: 2 doses of 100 mcg ethinyl estradiol plus 0.5 mg levonorgestrel taken 12 hours apart (plus prn antiemetic) • Most effective: IUD implanted within 5 days • Nearly 100% effective
Previous Limits on Availability of Emergency Contraception • 17 states mandate that emergency contraception be available to rape victims • 9 states allow pharmacists to directly prescribe emergency contraception • Other states considering
EC and Oregon Pharmacies (2003) • 61% of Oregon hospitals routinely offer EC to rape patients • Catholic hospitals = non-Catholic hospitals • 70% of all pharmacists surveyed reported that their pharmacy stocked emergency contraception. • Of those pharmacists who do not stock emergency contraception, 30% will not fill a prescription for the medication due a moral objection.