| October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month | |
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In 1995, President Clinton declared the month of October as the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Since that time, the month of October has served to proclaim greater national awareness of this important public health issue. On September 30, President Obama issued an Executive Order proclaiming October 2009 as National Domestic Awareness Month.
Although domestic violence was initially considered a criminal justice problem, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop aroused the Nation’s awareness that domestic violence is a public health problem. Consequently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) joined forces with the Department of Justice to reduce the incidences of domestic violence. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 provided law enforcement officials the tools needed to punish persons who assault women. The VAWA initiative launched the creation of the 24-hour toll-free National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) and the TDD number for the hearing-impaired (1-800-787-3224) available to all suffering from domestic violence. The Department of Health and Human Services is at the leading edge in providing education and information in an effort to reduce the incidence of domestic violence. Information on available programs and statistics may be found on the Department’s Web site: http://www.dhhs.gov under ‘Families.’ The goal of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) is to prevent domestic violence and, if necessary, provide intervention and rehabilitation. Although the number of reported incidents among Corps officers is relatively low, when they do occur, they not only affect the health and well being of the officer and his/her family members, but also compromise the mission of the Corps. Active duty, retired officers and/or family members concerned with this issue are encouraged to seek early assistance through the uniformed services’ healthcare system’s Family Advocacy Program, or through the civilian sector if outside the catchment area of a military facility. Officers and their family members may also obtain intervention by calling the Medical Affairs Branch of the Office of Commissioned Corps Support Services at 301-594-1503 or 1-800-368-2777, option “0”. Calls will be handled in a confidential manner and information will be held in the strictest confidence. |
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