Doctors shed light on abuse between same-sex partners
BY DIANA MOSKOVITZ, dmoskovitz@miamiherald.com
Domestic violence isn't limited to straight people.
So the North Broward Hospital District is training much of its staff to recognize the signs of domestic abuse in gay and lesbian patients.
The change came naturally, Dr. Nabil El Sanadi said, because it reflects South Florida's diversity.
''They are individuals, human beings, no different than any other patient,'' said El Sanadi, chief of emergency medicine for the district.
And this past week, the people who conduct the classes got a refresher course before going back to training more new hospital employees.
The hospital district, which recently adopted the brand name Broward Health, covers most of the county north of Griffin Road. Its hospitals include Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale and North Broward Medical Center in Deerfield Beach.
In Broward over-all, prosecutors filed more than 750 domestic violence charges, including one homicide, between April and June of this year, said Sarahnell Murphy, the assistant state attorney in charge of the domestic violence unit.
Some cases involve same-sex couples, but the state attorney's office doesn't keep track of the number.
But a 24-hour domestic violence phone line for same-sex victims gets about 20 to 30 calls a month, said Jorge Gardela, health and community services manager with the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida.
The hospital district began crafting its training more than a year ago as part of the Gay and Lesbian Domestic Violence Coalition, a collection of Broward agencies created to promote awareness and programs to combat the abuse.
There was a lack of services available for victims of same-sex domestic abuse, so the coalition set out to create some, said Michael McGuigan, coalition chairman.
The most important goal of the training was to make people aware that same-sex domestic violence happens, El Sanadi said.
The signs are the same, such as abdomen bruises or injuries that don't match a person's story. But hospital staff members need to know they can't assume it was a fight between friends or strangers if one man says another man beat him up. They still have to consider the possibility of domestic violence, El Sanadi said.
''The most important part of the training is making sure the trainee and trainer know that there are those kinds of encounters out there, men-on-men and women-on-women domestic violence,'' he said.
The training is included in the domestic violence training already given to various hospital staff members, including doctors and nurses. It has been going on for about a year.
State law already requires physicians to have training in the signs of domestic abuse. Doctors are required to report the abuse if the victim has life-threatening injuries, such as a shooting or stabbing, El Sanadi said.
Otherwise, there is no requirement, but El Sanadi said he still trains doctors to make their patients aware of the help that is out there.
Meanwhile, coalition members hope to keep pushing for more programs to bring awareness about same-sex domestic abuse. They have the phone line and publish ads detailing the signs of abuse and where to get help, McGuigan said.
But finding funding is tough because many domestic violence grants assume the aggressor and victim are of the opposite sex, McGuigan said.
The hospital training will continue, El Sanadi said. He also is working to add a code to intake forms so doctors can track how many domestic violence cases involve same-sex couples. ''We're hoping that we're quietly making a difference,'' he said.
IF YOU ARE A VICTIM
The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida hot line: 954-226-2279
Women in Distress of Broward County: 954-761-1133
Florida Domestic Violence hot line: 800-500-1119
Photo by ANDREW ULOZA/FOR THE MIAMI HERALD
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