By David Howell
Canby Herald

This is the second installment of a two-part series on domestic violence. Domestic violence affects women of all socioeconomic groups in all regions of Oregon, according to a needs assessment conducted for the Oregon Health Division's Center for Disease Prevention & Epidemiology.

Information for the report, "1998 Oregon Domestic Violence Needs Assessment: A Report to the Oregon Governor's Council on Domestic Violence," was gleaned through random telephone interviews of 1,855 women ages 18 to 64 years old.

The assessment defined domestic violence as physical abuse, including physical assault, sexual coercion and injury.

In 1998, 132,000 women ages 18 to 64 - or 13.3 percent - living in Oregon were physically assaulted, sexually coerced or injured by their husbands or intimate partners, the report found.

The number of acts of physical abuse experienced by women during the year ranged from one incident to 373 incidents, and 75 percent of female victims suffered more than 12 acts of abuse, the report found.

In 1998, 98 percent of victims were white and non-Hispanic, 63 percent were employed, almost 50 percent had some college education, and 43 percent had household incomes of at least $35,000.

"However, when victims were compared with women having no history of abuse, certain characteristics were associated with a higher risk," the report found.

"Young and single women, women with a high school or less education, as well as women in need of financial assistance were significantly over-represented among victims of domestic violence."

OHD found the prevalence of physical abuse was highest among women 18 to 24 years of age.

An estimated 25.4 percent of women in the age group experienced physical abuse in 1998, and prevalence decreased more than 12-fold between ages 18 to 24, and 55 to 64.

Estimated numbers of women physically abused in 1998 were 36,400 women among the ages of 18 to 24, about 40,100 women ages 25 to 34, and 37,400 women ages 35 to 44, the report found.

And physical abuse can often result in a greater need for health care and other social services.

"Physically abused women revealed more health-related problems and greater use of health care services than women who had never been abused," the Oregon Health Division's Nov. 7 CD Summary reported.

"Physically abused women were three times more likely to have self-reported histories of alcohol abuse problems (16 percent versus 5 percent), and more than nine times more likely to have histories of drug use problems (19 percent versus 2 percent) than women who had bever been abused."

The OHD found substance use problems increased with the severity of the physical abuse, as 28 percent of severely abused women had self-reported histories of alcohol problems, and 26 percent had histories of drug abuse.

Physically abused women also reported twice as many of the past 30 days of being sad or depressed, and of having pain limit their daily activities compared to women who had never been abused.

Not surprisingly, therefore, physically abused women saw health care providers about twice as often during the year as women who had never been abused.

Moreover, physically abused women used hospital emergency rooms and mental health care three times as often, and alcohol and drug treatment more than five times as often as women who had never been abused.

"The overwhelming majority of women physically abused during the past 10 years sought help, but only 21 percent turned to health care providers for help with the abuse," the report found.

"They most often turned to friends and family (80 percent), but also turned to police (35 percent), mental health care providers (34 percent), supervisors or coworkers (32 percent), clergy (23 percent), legal services agencies (22 percent), crisis telephone lines (12 percent), and victims programs/shelters (11 percent)."

The assessment reported women's advocates and professionals who encounter victims have worked hard to increase awareness of the impact of domestic violence in communities.

"Their work has contributed to significant improvements in health care education related to domestic violence," the report found.

"Health care providers are unique among professionals in having contact with nearly all victims of physical abuse. These providers are key to improving the health and safety of physically abused women and their children.

''To this end, health care providers must increase their identification, treatment, and referral of female patients who are abused by their intimate partners."

Providers can be effective in helping victims of domestic violence by openly discussing the problem, offering help, and putting them in touch with related services.

People who are the victims of abuse in Clackamas County have a valuable resource they can use located in Oregon City.

Clackamas Women's Services, which provides shelter and support to survivors of domestic violence in Clackamas County, reports 76 percent of victims are women, and the highest percentage are between ages 31 and 35.

Alarmingly, 30 percent of female homicide victims are killed by their husbands or boyfriends, 1 in 5 of a survivor's children are injured during an assault on their mother, and up to 90 percent of children are aware of the violence directed at their mother, CWS reports.

In 1999, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office reported one domestic violence murder, three attempted murders, and 480 domestic violence assaults, which accounted for more than half of all assaults reported to deputies.

Clackamas Women's Services responds to about 6,000 crisis calls each year, and shelters more than 600 women and children who flee domestic violence. At least 70 percent of the children staying at the shelter have been physically or sexually abused, CWS reports.

Its mission statement is simple: "Clackamas Women's Services affirms the right of every individual to live a life free of violence.

''Violence has sexual, economic, emotional, spiritual, and physical manifestations. We recognize that violence against women and children is a widespread and deep-seated societal problem.

''We work towards social change by empowering women and children, providing alternatives to violence and educating the community."

The non-profit agency seeks people willing to help victims of domestic violence in a number of capacities, including shelter, welfare and legal advocacy, peer counseling, community outreach, safe home provider, and parent-child support mentoring.

CWS also provides temporary shelter, food and clothing, ongoing support groups for survivors, play therapy for children, and transitional assistance for women leaving the shelter.

Health care providers who would like information on how to ask patients about domestic violence and how to refer victims can call the Family Violence Prevention Fund's National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence at 1-800-537-2238, or visit www.fvpf.org. To speak with Clackamas Women's Services counselors, call the 24-hour shelter and crisis line at 503-654-2288.

To contact Clackamas County Victim Assistance, call the 24-hour crisis line at 503-655-8616.

To contact the Child Abuse Hotline, call 503-657-6802, or 503-731-3100.

To contact the Family Crisis Intervention line, call 503-654-0025.

To contact Elderly or Abused Reporting, call 503-655-8764.

To contact the Men's Resource Center or Women's Agenda, call 503-557-0802.

To volunteer with Clackamas Women's Services, call 503-722-2366.