All health care professionals must acquire as much knowledge as they can from individuals seeking care and should investigate the possibility of abuse when suspicious signs are noted. To aid this line of inquiry, the paper describes signs of possible wife abuse, child abuse, and incest. Health care providers must report the incident to the police when the person has been a victim of violence that may be a crime and are mandated in many States to report child abuse. A major responsibility is to provide emergency medical assistance for physical trauma, beginning with a thorough physical examination. Guidelines for the triage person in the emergency room address assault victims, battered women, rape, and incest victims. Other suggestions pertain to psychological crisis counseling with attention to counteracting victims' feelings of helplessness, ascertaining the facts in the incident, helping victims to avoid blaming themselves, allowing victims to cry, offering assistance, and followup. Referrals to community resources are discussed. The author cautions that health care personnel must stop blaming victims for their plight, understand their own aggressive impulses, and confront sex role ideology and stereotyping. Providers who deal frequently with victims of violence and abuse should be aware that insensitivity, fear, and burnout can develop and impair their ability to help. Over 30 references are included.