Northwest Hospital DOVE Program a Lifesaver ‘Right Here in the Neighborhood’
Often times the stereotypical image we have of a victim of domestic abuse is a woman with disheveled hair and clothes, swollen eye and bruising on her body.
With October recognized as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, advocates want more people to be aware the signs of intimate partner abuse—which in addition to hitting, choking and slapping someone, can be emotional or verbal in nature, and involve financial control, intimidation or humiliation, and isolation from family and friends. Knowing how and when to access lifesaving resources is just as important as understanding the dynamics around domestic violence.
“Domestic abuse really can impact anyone regardless of age, race, religion, socio-economic backgrounds, gender identify, sexual orientation,” says Audrey Bergin, manager of the Domestic Violence (DOVE) program at Northwest Hospital in Randallstown.
One of about 10 hospital-based programs in the state, DOVE employs a staff of 14, which includes case managers, social workers, a nurse and attorney, available to address the continuum of violence with crisis counseling, legal help, a hotline and shelter. DOVE also provides advocacy, ongoing case management and a support group. Those services are free. “Over the years, the number of patients identified as being victims of abuse has increased,” Bergin says.
According to Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, one in four women and one in seven men in the United States report having been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner. In the organization’s latest report, 46 people died in Maryland in fiscal year 2018 as a result of intimate partner abuse; 67 percent of them died from guns.
Bergin stressed that the victim of domestic abuse goes beyond the stereotype. “It’s very prevalent in teens. It might be their first time in a relationship and they may not talk to their parent or an adult about their relationship. Friends may not give the best advice,” Bergin says.
“Baltimore County is almost always in the top three counties in Maryland for domestic violence related fatalities in Maryland. That’s one of our biggest concerns,” Bergin says. “For women who are murdered, most often they are killed at the hands of a current or former partner. So, it’s something that is preventable.”
This summer, police found an 18-year-old dead in her Pikesville home. Her boyfriend was charged with her murder. Last year, another woman from Milford Mill and her boyfriend was killed by the woman’s former husband.
Children also suffer, as they may witness their parents or other adults hitting or yelling at one another. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 30 to 60 percent of perpetrators of partner abuse also harm the children in the household. “We’ve added child therapy services to deal with the children’s emotional trauma,” which can have just as much damage as the actual abuse, Bergin says.
“Elder abuse is also being recognized more and more, whether it’s intimate partner violence or from a grown child,” she adds.
Men who are in an abusive relationship may not want to call the police. It’s the same with people in a same-sex relationship. Additionally, there are possibly higher rates within the LGBTQ community, Bergin says. They may not feel comfortable calling the police.
Human trafficking also has an impact. “In talking to the person, we can often tell that it may be a trafficking situation. The difficulty in the health care setting is that the person is so scared it’s hard to make a connection that they feel comfortable with them and it’s difficult to communicate with them when they leave. There is a lot of it out there, but a lot of times we get calls because it looks so similar to domestic violence.
In Baltimore County, reports of domestic-related crimes increased from about 6,500 in 2013 to 9,500 in 2017, according to the Maryland State Police.
Most of the victims are referred by police officers who will call the 24/7 hotline. DOVE most often works with the Woodlawn, Franklin, Wilkens and Pikesville precincts. When they receive a call, the staff quickly works with them to assess their needs, particularly to see if they need shelter.
“It can be challenging because people might not be ready to do anything. But it’s also a great opportunity because even if they’re not ready, we can plant a seed that they don’t need to be hit or called names.” We let them know we are right here in the neighborhood. Here’s how you can reach out to us. Our door is always open. We have no restrictions on where they’re from or how long we work with them.”
Quoting a sobering statistic, Bergin says, “For women who are murdered, the majority of them are killed by a current or former partner.” Using a “lethality assessment” tool that measures a victim’s risk for being killed, DOVE finds them a safe place to go and get them out of the dangerous environment.
“Shelter is a tough thing,” Bergin says. “There is no physical shelter for domestic violence victims on the west side of Baltimore County. So, in addition to the hospital patients, we also work with the police in the four precincts on the west side. They use the same lethality assessment,” Bergin says.
The health care setting is a really great place to identify people who are in abusive relationships and to offer intervention. folks are in abusive relationships are showing up in the healthcare setting often.
There is a lot of research showing that there are a lot of health care issues associated with being in an abusive relationship.
It can it takes time. There can be a lot of barriers to leaving an abusive relationship. Maybe their partner provides the child care helps with the bills. They only got one car, family pressure in terms of ‘We don’t get divorced in our family’ or religious pressure. Again, sometimes we’re just planting the seed and other times were really doing more active work in terms of helping somebody to leave an abusive situation.
DOVE, 410-496-7555, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the Baltimore County Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Hotline is 410-828-6390.