Re: domestic violence study committee

As someone who has volunteered at Middle Way House frequently during my four years at Indiana University, I was excited to read about Monroe County forming a domestic violence study committee.

As the committee gets underway, I hope they will follow legislation in the Indiana General Assembly that is relevant to domestic violence and anticipate how it could potentially affect the Bloomington community.

Many people may not be aware that one such piece of relevant legislation — Indiana Senate Bill 0417 — recently passed the Senate and moved on to the House of Representatives. Indiana Senate Bill 0417 requires that health care providers implement protocols and policies that allow for reporting of suspected cases of domestic violence with the patient’s consent.

However, the bill also includes two additional clauses that mandate health care providers to report suspected cases of domestic violence even without the patient’s consent if the health care provider has reasonable belief that the individual’s failure to report is due to coercion or that the patient is at risk for extreme injury.

If health care providers report suspected domestic violence without the patient’s consent, it could put the patient at greater risk for abuse or even death, as well as threaten the victim’s chance to flee the violence if he or she decides to do so.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, women who leave their abuser have a 75 percent greater risk of being killed by the offender than those who stay. Furthermore, studies show that when other states have implemented similar legislation, 50 percent less women seek medical care for injuries or conditions.

Indiana Senate Bill 0417 is currently in committee in the House and may soon reappear for a vote.  While the passion of the legislature for aiding victims of domestic violence should be commended, any support should empower victims and consider their safety by promoting an individual’s self-determination and personal decision to report domestic violence.

If the bill should pass the House despite the consequences it will bring for victims of domestic violence, the Monroe County domestic violence committee should be prepared for the many changes that area health care providers will be undergoing and the new challenges victims of domestic violence will face.

­— Michelle Ramus