Domestic Violence.(study finds many abused women don't support California mandatory reporting law)

Study Finds Many Abused Women Don't Support California Mandatory Reporting Law

2001 AUG 23 - (NewsRx Network) -- A University of California, San Francisco, study of mandatory reporting of domestic violence to the police examined the attitudes of female emergency department patients and found that nearly half (44.3%) of abused women in the study do not support this state law.

The UCSF study, published in the August 1, 2001, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, examines patient attitudes toward mandatory reporting of domestic violence injuries to the police, and how these attitudes may differ by abuse status and other socioeconomic and demographic factors. The study is one of the first to examine this issue among large patient populations in two states.

The UCSF study included 1219 women patients who visited 12 emergency departments in California and Pennsylvania. Female nurses collected data from eligible women patients after informing them that the questionnaire was anonymous and voluntary, had no impact on the care they would receive, and would not be seen by the clinicians treating the patients.

Among abused respondents, 44.3% opposed mandatory reporting of domestic violence to police, while 36.4% supported reporting but only with patient consent. Among nonabused respondents, those opposed to reporting dropped to 19.3%.

Currently, most states require clinicians to report injuries due to criminal acts or deadly weapons. And recently, states have expanded these laws by passing measures that require health care professionals to specifically report intimate partner violence (IPV) to the police. Since 1994, California has required clinicians to report suspected IPV to the police, even if contrary to a patient's wishes. Noncomplying clinicians face penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and/or jail sentences up to six months.

Patients, clinicians, and domestic violence prevention advocates are deeply divided on this issue, according to lead author of the study Michael A. Rodriguez, MD, MPH, UCSF professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Supporters of mandatory reporting of JPV argue that these laws will facilitate the prosecution of batterers, encourage health care clinicians to identify domestic violence, and improve data collection. Opponents contend that this legislation may increase violence by the perpetrators, diminish patient autonomy, and compromise patient-clinician confidentiality.