Connecticut's Department of Public Health has estimated that 250,000 to 300,000 women annually are abused in this state. Domestic violence here is 10 times more prevalent than breast cancer, 100 times more prevalent than ovarian cancer and 200 times more prevalent than AIDS.
In an effort to help address this issue and to educate health professionals and members of community agencies who work with victims of domestic violence, Yale public health and medical students are sponsoring the second annual Seminar Series on Domestic Violence, Monday-Wednesday, March 31-April 2. The series will feature three seminars, which are free and open to the public, and will be held in the Mary S. Harkness Auditorium, Sterling Hall of Medicine, 333 Cedar St.
Since domestic violence and related issues are such a widespread problem, more needs to be said about it, according to Timothy L. Helton, a first-year student in public health and cochair of the conference. "Unfortunately, our society tends to avoid talking about uncomfortable subjects because of shame, stigma or fear. We hope that these seminars will help end the stigma for children and women who must endure abusive relationships.
"As we focus on domestic violence," he continues, "we hope to consider the way children internalize domestic violence and substance abuse which they witness in their own homes and to make clinicians aware of their potential role in helping victims of domestic violence."
The first seminar, titled "Domestic Violence 101," will be presented 12:30-2 p.m. on March 31 by Dr. Anne H. Flitcraft, a 1977 graduate of the School of Medicine who codirects Connecticut's Domestic Violence Training Project. She will discuss the overall causes of domestic violence and outline the conditions which exist within abusive relationships, as well as the impact of abuse on individuals and health systems. Dr. Flitcraft also is associate professor of medicine at University of Connecticut Health Center and has been a consultant on domestic violence to the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, the U.S. Surgeon General's Office and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC.
"The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children" will be presented 12:30-2 p.m. on April 1 by Evan Stark, codirector of Connecticut's Domestic Violence Training Project. Mr. Stark will focus on the punitive effects of domestic violence on children, both mentally and physically. Dr. Stark, a nationally recognized authority on issues surrounding battering of women and child abuse, helped found one of the first shelters for battered women in the United States. He is an associate professor of public administration and social work at Rutgers University, an executive board member of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, and a recent appointee to the CDC panel on youth violence.
The final seminar, "Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence," will be held 1-2:30 p.m. on April 2. The seminar, which addresses the relationship between these two health issues, will be led by Theresa M. Zubretsky, director of Human Services Policy and Planning for the New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence. In that post, Ms. Zubretsky established the Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse Project, which provides training and technical assistance and concentrates on policy development and program implementation to enhance collaboration between substance abuse and domestic violence service systems. With more than 17 years of experience in these fields, Ms. Zubretsky serves on several national advisory boards related to substance abuse and domestic violence issues, including a special project designed to help prevent or reduce incidence of alcohol-related problems in under-served populations of black, Latina and low-income women.
For more information, call 785-5911.