Patterns Of Abuse

A recent study published in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery has found a new way to identify victims of domestic violence through the presence of fractures around the eye or upper face.

The findings are hard to read, but can potentially help doctors more effectively identify and treat women who have been abused. The research indicates that women who have been abused are more likely to show certain patterns of bruising and fracturing. The researchers claim that they were surprised at their findings: “we expected the injuries to be distributed the way they are for other facial traumas… and they weren’t.” David Greene, a doctor who has studied intimate partner violence, says that most women show signs of repeated violence concentrated in a single area: “There’s a lot of hitting in the face because a woman’s face is the most meaningful area — a hand slap, bruises are typical of that.”

Domestic violence victims have distinct facial injuries, study says [Scientific American]