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Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is defined by the UK Home Office (2013a) as: 'Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to, the following types of abuse: psychological, physical, sexual, financial [or] emotional.' The broad nature of the UK government definition provides scope for other forms of DVA to be included, such as harmful traditional practices, including female genital mutilation and forced marriage, teen dating violence and child (or adolescent) to parent violence (Home Office, 2013b).
The World Health Organization (WHO) (2013) describes it as the infliction of physical, sexual or mental harm, including coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty. In contrast to the broad definition used in the UK, the WHO differentiates between abuse perpetrated by current or former spouses and partners and other household members by specifically referring to it as 'intimate partner violence' (IPV), arguing that DVA can include other forms of violence in the home, such as child abuse and elder abuse. Both these definitions highlight some important points. Domestic violence and abuse involves a range of behaviours and the word Violence'can sometimes be misleading because of its physical connotations. DVA is often characterised by controlling, coercive behaviours and emotional abuse that do not involve physical violence (see for example, Stark, 2007; Katz, 2016). In recognition of the seriousness of control and coercion, such behaviours are now considered an offence in the UK under the Serious Crime Act (Home Office, 2015). It is important to note that almost all physical violence is accompanied by emotional abuse, coercion and control.
Public health nurses, and in particular health visitors and school nurses, have a crucial role to play in recognising and responding to women who have experienced DVA (Department of Health, 2013). The purpose of this CPD article is to discuss the issue of DVA, with specific emphasis on public health nurses' role in relation to recognition and response.The importance of supervision, support and training are also highlighted.
THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM
The prevalence of DVA is difficult to assess because it is likely to be...