Domestic violence: impact on psychiatric medicine

The 1984 Attorney General's Task Force Report on Domestic Violence attested: Anyone who lives in a violent home experiences an essential loss. The one place on earth where they should feel safe and secure has become a place of danger...the shadow of domestic violence has fallen across their lives and they are forever changed. One report states that the victims of the crime of domestic violence include "not only the people who die from injuries, but the family members who daily endure the psychological, emotional and spiritual abuse and pass on the emotional scars and violent behavior to one generation after another." If we are to stop this cycle of violence, we as physicians must step forward and assume our personal and professional responsibilities.