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In This Issue:
From left, Marlenny Ramdehal, Liz Spurrell, Idalia Carrasco, Ron Hindelang, Mardi Chadwick, Jackie Savage-Borne and Katrina Cosner.
Domestic violence doesn’t always conform to preconceived notions. Sometimes, it hides behind an unexpected face.
“For me, it was hiding behind the face of an 88-year-old victim, and behind the face of a friendly husband whom I had known for many years,” said Cristina B. Alexander, MD, a physician at Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center, as she shared her reflections on the impact of domestic violence during the hospital’s Honoring Survivors ceremony last week. The annual event is hosted by Passageway, an intervention and awareness program that offers assistance to BWH employees and patients experiencing domestic violence.
“Domestic violence is more than just a social issue,” BWH Chief Operating Officer Mairead Hickey, PhD, RN, said. “It’s a public health issue that negatively affects the health and well-being of our patients and their families.”
During the ceremony, guests were invited to write on a card the first name of a survivor, victim or care provider they wanted to honor. The cards were then placed in a box at the front of the room, along with a rose for each person honored. The melodies of Voices Rising, a women’s chorus, resounded throughout Bornstein Amphitheater as they sang “Testimony” and “The Road Home.”
John McGrath, data coordinator in the Center for Community Health and Health Equity, also shared his reflections on domestic violence. “We have to look at this data not just as numbers, but as real people who are experiencing a great deal of suffering,” he said.
The audience heard a selection of readings from the BWH and Faulkner Hospital Clothesline Project and Shoe Project, which enable care providers and domestic violence survivors to express their feelings by decorating shoes and T-shirts with words and art, illustrating the impact of domestic violence. Both projects were on display at the event.
Before completing her reflection, Alexander urged care providers to continue advocating against domestic violence and to ask patients about the safety of their environment.
“Sometimes, victims of domestic violence don’t come forward the first time you ask them about it,” said Alexander. “But by us asking every time, it provides a safe place for them to come when they are ready. And when that happens, we’ll be there to help.”
For more information about Passageway, call 617-732-8753.