Health care professionals talk domestic violence

Domestic and sexual violence is an ongoing issue, especially in Mid-Missouri.

Officials at the Boone County Sheriff’s Department told ABC17 they respond to cases of domestic abuse daily, and they’re not going away.

Early Saturday morning, Jeremy Hays was arrested and charged with domestic assault for attacking his girlfriend when she was trying to call police on him.

She later said she feared for her life and for her child’s safety.

Tina Bloom gave a seminar Wednesday to health professionals on how they can help women who are victims of domestic abuse.

She has worked with hundreds of victims of this abuse, and she said it’s not uncommon for aggressors like Hays to attempt to prevent calls, leading many of these crimes to remain unreported.

“It’s scary to reach out for help and talk to somebody,” she said. “It’s really important but if you reach out for help and someone’s not helpful, reach out to someone else.”

Bloom said health care professionals can connect abused woman to the help they need.

ometimes we see these patients in our clinics and in our waiting rooms and in our exam rooms and it’s really a chance to connect with her,” she said. “It’s private it’s safe, trusted, it’s a good opportunity.”

Although her main focus is motivating health care providers to reach out more frequently to possible victims of abuse, she said she believes everyone should reach out to victims of domestic violence.

“Anyone and everyone in the community can help support violence survivors by believing them, by listening, by not judging, and by helping them connect to safety planning resources,” she said. “So yeah, we have a job to do.”

There are many resources for victims of domestic abuse including the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Dating Abuse Helpline, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline.