The incidents of domestic violence resulting in trauma (injury) would probably shock a lot of people. In Australia, a report from the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare showed that more than 29,000 people had at least one hospital stay due to family and domestic violence in the seven years between 2010-11 and 2017-18.

In fact, the leading cause of homicide in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand is domestic and family violence, mostly against women.

Surgeons are very much on the frontline dealing with trauma in a medical sense. But, they’re also in a position to help mitigate future harm.

RACS Fellow, Assoc Prof Payal Mukherjee would like to see more education within the surgical community on how to help prevent family and domestic violence.

On November 10th this year – during Trauma Week – Assoc Prof Mukherjee and Dr Ken Harrison, a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists will be convening a joint symposium to address family violence.

RACS/ANZCA/ACEM Joint Symposium: Family Violence – Health System Response
Thursday 10 November, 9am - 4pm
Jubilee Room NSW Parliament, 6 Macquarie Street, Sydney
Details: https://www.surgeons.org/Resources/interest-groups-sections/trauma/trauma-week#Trauma%20Week%202022