Orloff L E
J Nurse Midwifery. 1996 Nov-Dec;41(6):473-94. doi: 10.1016/s0091-2182(96)00062-6.
A nurse-midwife may be one of the first professionals domestic-abuse victims talk to about the abuse. Like other health professionals who see abuse victims for health issues often unrelated to abuse, nurse-midwives have a special opportunity to identify, intervene, and support victims of domestic violence. Professionals working in health care will see abuse victims when they are living with their abusers and do not know that abuse is abnormal, when they attempt to leave their abusers, when they return to their abusers, and when they ultimately separate. Justice system professionals only see abuse victims when they have decided to try to leave. A thorough knowledge about relief available in the legal system for abuse victims will allow nurse-midwives to help battered women effectively. This article discusses the role nurse-midwives should play in assisting abuse victims who will be seeking help from the civil and criminal justice systems. Topics discussed include the importance of documenting injuries for use in future court cases, civil protection orders, criminal court prosecutions of the abuser, legal malpractice issues if health providers do not identify battered women, informing and referring domestic-violence victims, and the special needs of immigrant women. The article also discusses typical problems victims encounter in the legal system and ways victims can overcome these barriers.
助产士可能是家庭虐待受害者最先倾诉受虐情况的专业人员之一。与其他因健康问题（通常与虐待无关）而接触虐待受害者的医疗专业人员一样，助产士有特殊机会识别、干预并支持家庭暴力受害者。医疗保健领域的专业人员会在虐待受害者与施虐者共同生活且不知道虐待行为不正常时、试图离开施虐者时、回到施虐者身边时以及最终分开时见到他们。司法系统的专业人员只有在虐待受害者决定试图离开时才会见到他们。全面了解法律系统为虐待受害者提供的救济措施，将使助产士能够有效地帮助受虐妇女。本文讨论了助产士在协助将向民事和刑事司法系统寻求帮助的虐待受害者方面应发挥的作用。讨论的主题包括为未来法庭案件记录伤情的重要性、民事保护令、对施虐者的刑事法庭起诉、如果医疗服务提供者未识别出受虐妇女的法律渎职问题、告知和转介家庭暴力受害者以及移民妇女的特殊需求。文章还讨论了受害者在法律系统中遇到的典型问题以及受害者克服这些障碍的方法。
