Rodríguez Michael A, Sheldon Wendy R, Rao Nisha
UCLA Department of Family Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA.
Women Health. 2002;35(2-3):135-47. doi: 10.1300/J013v35n02_09.
This study examines abused women's preferences regarding medical clinician reporting of intimate partner abuse injuries to police. It also examines the influence of specific demographic factors on abused women's reporting preferences.
Telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of women patients attending one of three public primary care clinics associated with the San Francisco Community Health Network. Participants reporting a history of abuse were asked to identify their preferences regarding the reporting of abuse by medical clinicians to police.
Of the 358 abused women interviewed in this study, the majority of them (n = 243, 68%) did not prefer a domestic violence injury reporting system that was mandatory even if against patient wishes. However, almost all women (n = 329, 92%) favored some form of police reporting by medical clinicians. Women who had been abused within the past year were more likely to oppose mandatory reporting than women who had been abused more than one year ago. Younger women were more likely than older women to oppose mandatory reporting requirements, and women whose primary language was English were more likely to oppose mandatory reporting requirements than women whose primary language was Spanish. Current abuse was independently predictive of decreased likelihood to select mandatory reporting in all situations. There were no significant differences in reporting preferences by ethnicity, marital status, education, employment, or the presence of children at home.
Despite broad support among abused women for medical clinician reporting of intimate partner abuse injuries to police, most women do not support mandatory reporting requirements that do not allow for consideration of the abused patients' wishes. More research is needed to ascertain whether the benefits of mandatory reporting outweigh the risks to those intended to benefit from the law.
本研究调查受虐妇女对于医疗临床人员向警方报告亲密伴侣虐待所致伤害的偏好。同时，研究特定人口统计学因素对受虐妇女报告偏好的影响。
对旧金山社区卫生网络下属三家公立初级保健诊所之一的女性患者进行随机抽样电话访谈。报告有虐待史的参与者被要求明确其对于医疗临床人员向警方报告虐待行为的偏好。
在本研究访谈的358名受虐妇女中，大多数（n = 243，68%）不倾向于采用即使违背患者意愿也是强制性的家庭暴力伤害报告系统。然而，几乎所有妇女（n = 329，92%）支持医疗临床人员以某种形式向警方报告。过去一年遭受虐待的妇女比一年多前遭受虐待的妇女更有可能反对强制报告。年轻女性比年长女性更有可能反对强制报告要求，以英语为主要语言的女性比以西班牙语为主要语言的女性更有可能反对强制报告要求。当前遭受虐待可独立预测在所有情况下选择强制报告的可能性降低。在报告偏好方面，种族、婚姻状况、教育程度、就业情况或家中是否有孩子等因素并无显著差异。
尽管受虐妇女普遍支持医疗临床人员向警方报告亲密伴侣虐待所致伤害，但大多数妇女不支持不考虑受虐患者意愿的强制报告要求。需要更多研究来确定强制报告的益处是否超过那些旨在从该法律中受益的人的风险。
