[Women and violence. A one-year prospective study from Bergen emergency department]

Medical studies on violence towards women have usually focused on domestic violence. Less attention has been devoted to other kinds of violence towards women regardless of cause. During a 12-month period in 1994-95 all victims of assault were recorded at Bergen Accident and Emergency Department. The attending physician completed a questionnaire on violence exploring where, when and how the assault happened, the use of weapons, whether the patient and perpetrator or both were under the influence of alcohol, and whether the patient intended to press legal charges. Patient characteristics and medical information were also recorded. 24% of the assaulted victims were females (241 of a total of 994). 131 of the females were victims of domestic violence, while 102 were injured in public places. Women injured in public places tended to be younger and more likely to be under the influence of alcohol than those injured by domestic violence. There were no significant differences in patterns of ICPC-diagnoses between the two groups, though the number of admissions to hospitals and referrals to specialists was higher in the group subjected to domestic violence.