Take Care New York

9. Make Your Home Safe and Healthy

• • Help Is Available for Domestic Violence
  
  
• • Prevent Lead and Other Poisoning

Have a home that is free from violence and free of environmental hazards.

Help Is Available for Domestic Violence

Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence (IPV), is about power and control. Violence is always wrong; it is against the law.  Violence is never the victim’s fault.  There are many ways to get help, and you are not alone.

• If you are experiencing abuse and need immediate help, click here.
  
  
• To learn about Intimate Partner Violence (Domestic Violence) and its health effects, click here.
  
  
• For additional resources and help for yourself and others:
  • Victims/survivors
    
    
  • Family, friends, neighbors and co-workers of victims
    
    
  • Health care providers
    
    
  
  
  
• For Publications on Intimate Partner Violence and related issues, click here.
  
  

TO GET HELP

1. CALL 911:  If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
   
   
2. CALL 1-800-621-HOPE:  To find out more about getting help and getting safe when you are not in immediate danger, you can call the City’s Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-621-HOPE or 1-800-621-4673). Or call 311 and ask for the Hotline.  Both are available 24 hours a day.  Assistance is available in multiple languages and includes help with:
   • Shelters to get away from an abuser.
     
     
   • Leaving the relationship, temporarily or permanently.
     
     
   • Counseling or other social services.
     
     
   • A court order of protection or an arrest warrant
     
     
   
   
   
3. TALK TO A HEALTHCARE PROVIDER:  You can also talk to a healthcare provider about your fears.  Healthcare providers include your regular doctor, a nurse, or any other medical professional at an emergency room, hospital, clinic or doctor’s office.
   
   

Intimate Partner Violence and its Effects on Health

Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, involves a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to establish and maintain power and control over the other. These behaviors can include physical, sexual, and psychological (emotional) abuse by a current or former partner (including common-law husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, lovers, and dating partners) in both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships.

Intimate partner violence can cause serious short- and long-term health problems, including physical injuries, such as bruises or broken bones, and psychological suffering, such as anxiety or depression.

Physical intimate partner violence includes:

• the use of weapons
  
  
• hitting, slapping, kicking
  
  
• pushing, shoving
  
  

Sexual intimate partner violence includes:

• forced and/or unwanted sexual intercourse (rape) or sexual touching
  
  
• threats of forced and/or unwanted sexual contact or violence
  
  
• unwanted non-contact sexual acts, such as voyeurism, exploitation, and verbal or behavioral sexual harassment
  
  

Sexual acts become violent and against the law when they are done without both partners’ consent.  Active consent means that each person agrees to the sexual act freely and knowingly.  A person who has any or all of the following characteristics CANNOT give consent:

• a person who has been threatened or coerced
  
  
• a person whose judgment is impaired by alcohol or drugs
  
  
• a person who is unconscious or asleep
  
  
• a person who has a mental impairment that does not allow for full understanding of the sexual act
  
  
• a person who is younger than 17 years of age
  
  

Psychological intimate partner violence includes:

• threatening to hit or to use weapons
  
  
• threatening to hurt children, relatives, friends or pets
  
  
• continually criticizing, name-calling, ridiculing
  
  
• controlling access to family, friends, work, and money
  
  

Both men and women can experience IPV, but most reported cases occur among women and it is a leading cause of women’s injuries. In 2004, intimate partner violence sent over 5,000 women and men to the emergency departments in NYC. Data suggest that an estimated 69,000 NYC women and 57,000 NYC men report that they are afraid of their partner. It is likely that even more New Yorkers are victims of violence, since some may be too afraid or ashamed to tell anyone about what is happening to them.

Additional Internet Resources and Help For Victims/Survivors

• Self-assessment: Am I being abused?  
  Languages:[English] [Español]
  
  
• Did you know that your relationship affects your health?
  
  
• Self-assessment:  Am I a victim of teen dating violence?
  
  
• What can I do if I’m involved inTeen Dating Violence?
  
  
• Help for Immigrant Women facing violence
  
  
• Finding Safety and Support: a comprehensive Guide for Survivors
  Languages:[English] [Español]
  
  
• Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men: 1-888-7HELPLINE
  
  
• DV Survival Kit
  
  
• Information on and services for Intimate Partner Violence in the LGBTQ community, call the Anti-Violence Project (AVP): (212) 714-1141
  
  
• Safe Horizon Community Programs and Counseling Services in all 5 boroughs
  
  
• Create a safety plan
  
  
• What if I’m being stalked?
  
  
• What if I’ve been raped?
  
  
• Information about children and intimate partner violence
  
  
• Information about Public Assistance for victims of intimate partner violence
  
  
• What will happen when I call the police?
  
  
• Legal Services: How the courts can help and finding the right court?
  
  
• Housing for Intimate Partner Violence victims
  • Mayor's Office Domestic Violence Housing Resources  
    
    
  
  
  

Additional Internet Resources and Help
For Family, Friends, Neighbors, Coworkers of Victims/Survivors

How can I help a friend or family member who is being abused?

Domestic Violence Awareness Handbook: “Each of us can do more and this handbook shows us how”

Helpful information for family and friends of domestic violence and incest victims

Taking action against intimate partner violence in the workplace

Toolkit for Working with Men and Boys – Taking Action as a Bystander

Am I an abuser?  Self-assessment for teens

Violent and Controlling Behavior Checklist

Where can abusers get help?

Information on Domestic Violence Offenders Program

See It and Stop It: For teens who want to take action against dating violence

Help a teen in a dating violence relationship:

• For friends
  
  
• For parents
  
  
• For schools
  
  
• For men/boys
  
  

Additional Internet Resources and Help
For Health Care Providers

• 2005 Resource Directory of Domestic Violence Services in NYC (PDF)
  
  
• A medical provider’s guide to managing the care of domestic violence patients in a cultural context (pdf)
  Domestic violence background information, domestic violence screening/assessment in health settings and techniques for working with patients experiencing domestic violence.
  
  
• City Health Information: Intimate Partner Violence: Encouraging Disclosure and Referral in the Primary Care Setting  (PDF)
  The agency’s publication for medical providers.
  
  
• Information on screening/assessment/referral in primary care settings.
  
  
• Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners/Response Teams (SAFE/SART)
  • Listing of hospital emergency departments with specialized services for sexual assault victims (New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault).
    
    
  
  
  
• Trainings, presentations and technical assistance in intimate partner violence for health care providers
  
  
• Model healthcare programs, healthcare provider resources, and domestic violence screening/assessment guidelines
  
  
• Medscape course: Domestic Violence and Your Patient's Health: Asking the Right Questions (course with CME credits available until March 2008)
  
  
• Documenting Domestic Violence (PDF): How Health Care Providers Can Help
  
  
• Information on mental health concerns and domestic violence for mental health and substance abuse providers.
  
  

Publications on Intimate Partner Violence and Related Issues

• NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, click here
  
  
• New York State and National, click here
  
  
• Special Topics, click here
  
  

NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

• Intimate Partner Violence in New York City (forthcoming – no link yet)
  A comprehensive summary of the scope of the problem in NYC using multiple health data sources.
  
  
• Femicides, 1995-2004: Statistics and Trends
  A presentation describing intimate partner homicide in NYC over time and identifying who is at risk.
  
  
• Health Bulletin #11: Domestic Violence and Abuse
  Information about what domestic violence is and how to get help.
  (To be revised)
  Languages:[English[Español][Chinese][عربي][Русский]
  
  
• City Health Information: Intimate Partner Violence: Encouraging Disclosure and Referral in the Primary Care Setting  (PDF) The agency’s publication for medical providers.
  
  

New York State and National Facts and Figures

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Intimate Partner Violence: Overview
  National statistics about intimate partner violence.
  
  
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet
  National statistics about sexual violence.
  
  
• Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the United States National statistics on intimate partner violence, compiled from victimization surveys and crime data.
  
  
• Family Violence Prevention Fund, Get the Facts Summary of data on many topics pertaining to domestic violence, including children, guns, immigration, and the workplace.
  
  

Special Topics

• Immigrant Women (download the PDF) Links to information on immigrant women and domestic violence.
  
  

• Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community- Links to the Institute’s biannual newsletter on special topics for the African American Community.
  
  

• National Latino Alliance for the Elimination of Domestic Violence- Spanish language educational brochures.
  
  
• Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence in Asian Communities
  Summary of research on domestic violence among Asian and Pacific Islanders.
  
  
• New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP). New York Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bisexual Domestic Violence Report.
  Summary of incidents reported to the Anti-Violence Project in 2003 and 2004 and a description of the services they provide to victims.
  
  
• New York City Department for the Aging, Elder Abuse
  Links to information about elder abuse and how to get help in New York City.
  
  
• Humane Society Animal Cruelty & Domestic Violence Fact Sheet
  Brochure: Protecting Your Pet from Domestic Violence (PDF)
  Information about how to protect your pet from domestic violence.