Ep.13 – Relationship Abuse

Pitt Medcast

TOUGH QUESTION | How can the medical community help women who are experiencing intimate partner violence?

There’s a common assumption that domestic violence must involve broken bones or bruises. But much of intimate partner violence is in the emotionally controlling behaviors and psychological abuse. In this episode, women’s health experts discuss other ways they’re learning that abuse happens. For instance, a partner might trash his girlfriend’s medications, sabotage the car before a doctor’s appointment or use substances to control her. Our guest physicians discuss new strategies that are helping to prevent women from falling through the cracks. Warning: This episode discusses sexual assault and other violence that some listeners might find troubling.

Our guests: The University of Pittsburgh’s Judy Chang is an associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and of medicine. Elizabeth Miller is the division director of Adolescent-Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. She is also a Pitt professor of pediatrics, of public health and of clinical and translational science.

Read the story in our magazine, Pitt Med.

Interview by Elaine Vitone. Produced by Maya Best and Elaine Vitone. Our executive producer is Erica Lloyd. Music by Blue Dot Sessions.