Partner violence is an important health risk for many women. Estimates of partner violence in the general population vary, depending on the source of the data. A recent national survey in Israel found that 11.5 percent of 713 adult women who were interviewed by telephone were victims of partner violence during their lifetime. The emergency department (ED) is a portal to the health care system for women and men involved in the cycle of isolation and victimization. However, the diagnosis and recognition of domestic violence in the ED remains difficult. Using the Partner Violence Screen (PVS), this study screened for domestic violence among women attending the ED in a hospital in Jerusalem, Israel with 19 percent of the women screened considered at high risk of partner violence. The study was conducted in the fall of 2001 in the ED of the Hadassah University Hospital Mount Scopus. The study found that 19 percent of every five women using the ED had a history of physical or nonphysical partner violence in the previous year. The screening for partner violence in the ED was seen as effective and the rate of self-reported physical abuse was found similar to that reported in primary care in Israel. References