Diagnosis domestic violence : making the connection between violence and health

In the United States, domestic violence is a legal problem with profound health consequences. This paper explores the precise nature of those health consequences, which can be both long-term and short-term. In addition to causing physical and mental health problems, one of the ways that perpetrators of domestic violence exercise coercive control is by controlling their partners’ access to healthcare. Reproductive coercion, an emerging focus of research and advocacy, is explored here as one manifestation of domestic violence. Because of the multifold ways that the legal and healthcare aspects of domestic violence are connected, a type of organization called a medical-legal partnership (MLP) is uniquely positioned to holistically aid survivors of domestic violence who need both legal and medical remedies