"Victims don’t often dare to disclose, and in some cases the perpetrator may be the loved one in the waiting room… In many instances I noticed that the nature of the patient’s ocular injuries did not match with what they said had happened". Violence against women and domestic violence is the topic of a new episode of the Swedish Red Cross University podcast "Nursing and Health". In this episode we meet Leah Okenwa Emegwa, associate professor and lecturer at the Swedish Red Cross University, who is an educator and researcher in the field of violence in intimate relationships. The interview was conducted by Paul Parker, Digital Learning Specialist at the Swedish Red Cross University.
How can we improve our ability as healthcare professionals to get answers and help the patient further, asks Leah Okenwa Emegwa, who works with the educational model "Dare to ask and act”. The model is designed to equip nursing students with the necessary tools to clinically identify and respond to violence against women and domestic violence from a nursing care perspective. The conversation focuses on risk groups, what healthcare professionals can do to identify and respond to cases, as well as what loved ones can do when there are signs of abuse and controlling behaviors within a close relationship: not just physical violence, but also psychological and sexual violence.
Sound and editing: Niki Tegeland