217843 Violence against women in the military

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 1:10 PM - 1:30 PM

Martin Donohoe, MD, FACP , School of Community Health, Portland State University, Lake Oswego, OR
     
This presentation will focus on violence against women as it relates to active members and veterans of the United States' armed services. It will include an overview of the epidemiology, health consequences, and medical and societal responses to such violence. It will discuss important events such as the Tailhook scandal and the sexual assaults at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in the 1990s, as well as the relationship of combat exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder to violence viz a viz the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. We will evaluate the Department of Defense's response, describe victims' assistance programs, and analyze ways in which the national and international communities can act to reduce such violence and increase social justice for women.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session, the learner should be able to: • Discuss historical trends and contemporary epidemiological data relevant to violence against women in the military. • Describe the factors contributing to a culture of sexism and violence that exists in some areas of the military, along with the stressors unique to military life. • List the health consequences of violence against women in the military. • Describe the Department of Defense's response to such violence. • Explain the national and international measures that would help to decrease the prevalence and severity of such violence.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, War

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have lectured and written about the topics of war and peace and violence against women for two decades, as well as being an activist in these areas.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4209.0: Social Justice, the US Military and their families