Published: April 16, 2009 03:26 pm      

Pinpointing signs of abuse

Domestic-violence expert to speak Thursday

DANVILLE — A victim of domestic violence might feel that she’s hitting a brick wall at times. But, if she perseveres, she’ll find something behind that brick wall — a better life.

That’s the theme behind a mural at the women’s shelter at Your Family Resource Connection, as well as a symbol of what victims go through. The mural was painted by David Webber of Danville several years ago.

No one is exempt from the effects of domestic violence, said Tonya Fielder, director of programs at YFRC.

“One in every four women you know is being battered,” she said, adding the abuse could be physical, emotional, mental or financial. “It’s more prevalent than people realize.”

However, there is help.

An all-day conference on Thursday will address the problem by alerting health-care professionals, law enforcement, members of the general public and others to the signs of abuse.

Registration is at 8:30 a.m., and the conference starts at 9 a.m. at the Bremer Conference and Workforce Development Center at Danville Area Community College. About 100 people from across the state are expected.

Jacquelyn C. Campbell, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and an expert on domestic violence, will speak. Campbell, the author of more than 150 articles and seven books on domestic violence, has mentored many profession-als who work in the field and is held in high esteem by her peers.

Fielder is excited about Thursday’s event because the topic is so important.

YFRC workers are the responders who go to the emergency room, for example, if a nurse or doctor thinks a person is the victim of domestic violence.

“The key is detection,” Fielder said, so she hopes health-care professionals come to the conference to learn more about the signs of abuse.

Thursday’s conference, with the theme “Intimate Partner Violence,” is being presented by Illinois Health Cares Vermilion County, a coalition of area groups under the auspices of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Amy Marchant, co-chairman of the local Illinois Health Cares, also is enthusiastic about the group’s chance to educate the public about domestic violence.

Participants will get a thorough understanding of the correlation between health care and domestic violence.

“The whole project is designed to inform the public and health-care professionals that violence is a health-care issue,” Marchant said.

For example, a person exposed to violence might overeat to relieve the stress, but that results in obesity, which can lead to diabetes. Also, stress can lead to self-medication with alcohol and drugs.

“We’re living longer and our bodies need to hold up longer,” she said. However, people aren’t going to be as healthy as they can be if they’re constantly exposed to stress resulting from violence.

Like Fielder, Marchant noted that almost everybody knows somebody who is experiencing violence in her or his life.

The conference will help people notice the signs, give solutions and offer resources. Thus, a person who isn’t a victim herself will learn how to help someone who is a victim.

Also during the conference, part of a video will be shown, which was compiled by Dan Reed’s media class at Hoopeston Area High School. The students interviewed victims of interpersonal violence.

The entire video will be made available to organizations.

Marchant, who also is CEO at CRIS Senior Services, noted that the conference is an inexpensive way for health-care workers to earn continuing medical education credits. Such training normally is quite expensive, she said.

The conference also is a good resource for students in the fields of health care, law enforcement, and social services, organizers say.

Illinois Health Cares seeks to improve clinical responses to victims of interpersonal violence. This is the second year that the group has presented a program; last year’s focus was elder abuse and next year’s will be sexual assault.



COMING UP

A one-day training on “Intimate Partner Violence” will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at the Bremer Conference and Workforce Development Center, Danville Area Community College.

Admission is free. However, lunch is $10 to those who want it, and there’s a $10 fee to professionals who want continuing education credits.

For more information, e-mail eaawarenewss@vermilionseniors.com or call 443-2999.