Last week I attended the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, as the Medical Women's International Association (MWIA) representative to the WHO. Over the next 3 years, MWIA is planning to produce a Manual on Domestic and Sexual Violence. Affecting one in three women globally, this subject has received a great deal of publicity in the last year, especially from the WHO and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) read more here and here.
Along with 3 other organisations representing doctors and medical students, MWIA presented a statement at the WHA (read the statement here).
Professor Sir Michael Marmot gave an inspiring address on Violence Against Women at a World Medical Association event in Geneva last week, and a small group of us plan to arrange a meeting with him in London in the near future. As doctors we are perfectly placed to identify victims of abuse, but at present there are no clear channels of referral to suitable supporting services. Establishing a practical system to deal with this problem at a national and international level is an urgent challenge.
Dr Clarissa Fabre
GP, East Sussex and former MWF President
