Nursing prof speaks on battered women

More than 550,000 women are the victims of domestic violence every year, according to Jacquelyn Campbell, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. She and Ann Burgess, chairperson and professor of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing at the University, spoke to more than 100 Nursing students and faculty yesterday about the consequences of rape and battering on women's health. The lecture was part of the Nursing School's lecture series entitled "Women's Voices, Women's Choices: Nursing Responds," which has attempted to address issues facing modern women. Campbell discussed her book Nursing Care of Survivors of Family Violence, defining family violence as "repeated physical and/or emotional abuse in the context of cohesive control." She said there is no significant difference in the number of reported incidences of abuse within varied racial groups. However, she added that those women near the poverty level are most likely to experience abuse. Campbell explained that the main health effects of battering include depression, risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, lowered immune system response, chronic pain and substance abuse. "We must make it clear that we do not tolerate domestic violence," Campbell said, adding that appropriate intervention will decrease costs in health care. She said health care systems must be sanctuaries for battered women. Burgess spoke about "The Delayed Voice of the Rape Victim," citing three reasons why rape victims do not always immediately report rape. The first, she said, is "impaired cognitive processing," which refers to those who are retarded or demented. These women are less able to clearly express themselves. The second reason she cited was "diminished awareness," in which the victims were sleeping or drugged. Burgess' final reason was "cognitive dissonance," where "perception of what is happening is managed and controlled by the offender." In each case there is a possibility for memory fragmentation -- forcing the victim to forget the incident temporarily. The audience seemed to be impressed with the speakers' messages. "I think that these speakers are great role models as nurses who have done incredible work and as advocates of women and women's rights," Nursing senior Eva Domotorffy said.

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