[Violence and women in Arhus. Changes in the 1980's]

As part of a one-year prospective investigation of accidents due to violence in Arhus carried out by the casualty departments and the Institute of Forensic Medicine in cooperation with the Arhus Police and the Crisis centre for female victims of violence, the fraction of violence which involved women was analysed. A total of 492 contacts were received from 424 women. The average age was 32 years. The home was the commonest site of violence with the husband as the commonest perpetrator of violence (192). In 98 cases the perpetrator was unknown. The majority had received blunt injuries (blows and/or kicks). The lesions frequently appeared to be limited from a therapeutic viewpoint. In 143 women, however, the lesions were potentially serious. Thirteen women were hospitalized and 60 were referred for treatment in other departments. Violence was commonest in the evening and night hours and there was a tendency to an increase towards the end of the week. The majority (279) stated that the episode was not their fault. The police were contacted in 25% of the cases. A total of 164 requests were made for access to the Crisis Centre by female victims of violence. Of these, 30 women had been seen by a doctor and 23 had previously been hospitalized. Compared with conditions five years previously, a considerable increase in the number of registered violent accidents to women was observed. On the other hand, no definite evidence was found that the nature of the violence to which they had been exposed had altered during the past five years.