‘Child abuse’ is a topic about which clinicians will be well informed. There are protocols relating to the management of patients suspected of having sustained non-accidental injuries and clinical staff will be expected, as part of mandatory training, to receive education in this area. Domestic abuse (DA) is an under-reported, but relatively common problem and has many implications in the management of traumatic injuries in adults. The objective of this paper is to discuss the aetiology, history and presentation of patients who have been subjected to domestic abuse, and to help provide a strategy for their management.
Clinical Relevance: Domestic abuse is a relatively common problem and, as such, dentists should be aware of this important area and how to manage patients they suspect of having been abused, or who inform them that they have been subjected to DA.
Article
Dentists have a pivotal role to play in the identification of domestic violence because dental and/or facial injury may provide the only contact point with professionals who could recognize the signs and intervene.1
The Government defines domestic abuse as ‘any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between partners (sixteen years and over) who have been in intimate relationships or between family members (eighteen years and over) regardless of gender and sexuality.2 Family members include close family, ie parents, siblings, grandparents, in-laws and step-family. It can involve a range of abusive behaviours, not all of which are seen as being individually violent.3
Domestic abuse is far ranging and can include forced marriages and ‘honour’ crimes.2 It can happen to a man or a woman, and be perpetrated by a man or a woman, with children often being affected as well. It creates a dynamic of power imbalance (Figure 1),4 the pattern of violence being all important; the victim is the person who is being controlled and living in fear. This may not be the same person who is the victim in a single incident.2
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