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Alaskan women face a much higher risk of homicide than women nationwide. Non-native Alaskan women are killed 1.5 times more often (6.2 per 100,000) than the national average (4.2 per 100,000) according to the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research. Native women are killed 4.5 times more often (19.1 per 100,000). In 1990, 50% of female murder victims in Alaska were killed by their husbands or boyfriends. In 1995, 80% of homicides in Alaska were related to domestic violence. In 1994, 4 of the 16 domestic violence related deaths in Alaska were children. The public health impact of domestic violence is compounded by the fact that the violence escalates in frequency and severity. Three-fourths of the women who are injured once continue to experience ongoing abuse. Without appropriate interventions, these women are at high risk of developing serious, complex medical and psychosocial problems, including suicide attempts. A recent study found that 12% of female emergency department patients with a current male partner were recent victims of domestic violence. Battered women come in contact with other medical settings, including pre-hospital care providers, primary or ambulatory care centers, psychiatric services, and prenatal care. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data for 1991 to 1994 revealed that 13% of women, who had recently given birth, had been physically hurt by someone close to them before or during pregnancy. Regardless of the health care setting, the traditional medical response to battered women has been to treat the presenting medical injury or illness without addressing the violence that may be at the root of the problem. The cost of battering to the survivor, her children, the batterer, the health care system, criminal justice system, and society is staggering. Women who are abused have a much higher rate of alcohol and drug abuse, depression, suicide, anxiety, and miscarriage. The cost to children is both immediate and cumulative, from emotional disturbance during childhood to re-enacting the violence during adolescence and adulthood. Finally, the cost to the batterer is also significant, including employment problems, alcohol and drug abuse, homicide, arrests, fines and imprisonment. The cost to the community includes lost wages, sick leave, non-productivity, and absenteeism.
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