This book is a comprehensive and much-needed guide to an under-taught field of medicine. Unlike other areas, the focus is not on medicalising and fixing the issue — there is no pill to treat and no test. Instead our role is to recognise, respond, and refer.
In order to cover such a diverse topic the book is divided into 26 fascinating chapters, each containing practical information on how to word difficult questions, red flags to be aware of, case studies, and support service contact details, in addition to the cultural and historical background of abuse. ‘Taboo’ issues, such as male rape, are openly discussed, providing refreshing myth-busting advice.
There are many valuable ideas for a clinician to implement, such as the need for coding of practice notes involving abuse to avoid a controlling partner reading them, the regular use of the HARK questions (have you ever been Humiliated by your partner, have you ever been Afraid of your partner, have you ever been Raped by your partner, and have you been Kicked or physically hurt by your partner?), and the use of the IRIS (Identification and Referral to Improve Safety) model.
Practical advice on the documentation of assaults is hugely useful, as is the dermatology-like classification of injury types. Primary care is highlighted as a vital cog in the process of disclosing violence: through training healthcare workers and making a practice domestic violence-aware it can be made far easier and safer for a patient to disclose assault.
This small book teaches a lot more than the mere ABC: advice varies from language to avoid (abuse not violence, survivor not victim), to how to write a professional witness statement, to what happens in court.
I highly recommend this guide to GPs, emergency doctors, midwives, and social workers, to name but a few.