摘要：In this commentary, we focus on violence against women of color. Although African American women experience higher rates of intimate partner homicide than White women, the cumulative rates for nonfatal intimate partner violence are similar and do not vary between urban and rural locations (though access to services may vary by location). Much of the research about intimate partner violence is based on women with low socioeconomic status and on interventions that were developed by and for White women. Current primary prevention strategies focus on violence that is perpetrated by strangers rather than their primary perpetrators—intimate partners. We recommend the development and rigorous evaluation of prevention strategies that incorporate the views of women of color and attention to primary prevention. THE DELETERIOUS IMPACT OF intimate partner violence (IPV) has been documented along a number of health-related dimensions, including acute injuries, somatic health complaints, diminished psychological functioning, and decrements in other social role domains, including occupational, interpersonal, and parental functioning. Before 1980, there were only a few national studies of IPV in the United States. 1– 3 These studies used survey methods that were criticized as biased because of the approaches used to recruit and interview participants. During the 1980s, a national strategic plan for health promotion was released and since 1990, reducing rates of IPV has been an objective. During the 1980s, the number of journal articles about IPV increased, although many studies used small convenience samples of women who either were residents of women's shelters or attended public prenatal clinics. Those studies primarily focused on women in poverty. Recently, after efforts to broaden case finding, studies have been conducted in emergency departments and in the practices of primary care providers; victims of IPV were found in these settings. Increased attention to IPV during the 1990s resulted in the publication of an integrative review of IPV, 4 passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994, and establishment of a National Advisory Council on Violence Against Women. Currently, we observe unprecedented levels of collaboration and cooperation between federal, state, and local agencies that provide services or funds for research and services to victims of IPV and their families. One of the Healthy People 2010 objectives is to reduce the rate of physical assault by current or former intimate partners. 5 Coercive control underlies the multidimensional expressions of IPV, which can include physical violence and injuries in the form of homicide; emotional, verbal, or psychological abuse; sexual coercion; rape; and stalking. 6 Many studies have focused on a single expression of violence, such as physical assault, without examining the interrelationships among various expressions of coercive control. This commentary provides a review of the epidemiology of IPV, including current prevention efforts. We focus especially on the scope and magnitude of this problem among women of color and their responses to current prevention initiatives. We then suggest areas for further research as well as implications for public health and social policy to reduce the high toll of IPV.
