Domestic violence should be treated as public health issue

May 2 2007

Domestic violence causes "devastating" psychological and physical damage to women and should be approached as a public health issue, Cesar Chelala -- an international public health consultant and author of the Pan American Health Organization publication "Violence in the Americas" -- writes in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece.

According to Chelala, women suffer a "wide range" of physical problems as a result of domestic abuse -- including gynecological problems, miscarriage, organ damage and exacerbation of chronic illness. He adds that it also is "crucial" to realize "violence against women" includes the psychological related issues, such as name-calling, withholding money, and forbidding the woman to work or see her family.

According to Chelala, many experts and organizations -- including PAHO and the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission of Women -- "are calling for domestic violence to be treated as a public health issue" in response to these problems. A Mexican law that went into effect in February and requires local and federal authorities to stem violence against women "is a critical step toward protecting women's lives" Chelala writes, adding that the "question now, in Mexico and throughout the world, is whether the will exists to implement the law" (Chelala, Philadelphia Inquirer , 4/30).