http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debra-houry-md-mph/domestic-violence-awareness-month_b_2001946.html

Although I am glad that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I've been an emergency room doctor for 17 years -- for me, every day is domestic violence awareness day.

As a first-year medical student, I saw a young woman who escaped through an open window in a locked room after her abusive boyfriend had left the apartment and gone to work after beating her. Both of her eyes were swollen shut and her voice was hoarse from being choked. Although this was not the first time he had attacked her, as I examined her she was ashamed to tell me what had happened. After that encounter I realized I had not only an opportunity but an obligation to tell survivors this shouldn't happen to them, help them develop a safety plan and connect them with community resources. Since that day 17 years ago, I have treated hundreds of abused women. But all too often abuse, rather than being treated as the public health crisis it is, is presented in the media through isolated incidents, the more grotesque the better.

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Unfortunately this media portrayal is not uncommon. A University of Washington research study found that 17 percent of newspaper stories on partner violence concentrated on themes which blamed the victim, such as noting the victim used drugs or alcohol. Another review of newspaper articles revealed that perpetrators were just as likely to be portrayed negatively as they were to be described as gentle, hard-working, or a doting parent. Why is there any description of their personality traits? Reporters don't ask the same personal questions around thieves or rapists.

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By reporting on stories as though they occur in isolation, the media also misses the opportunity to educate their audience on prevention strategies for violence such as school-based programs and alternative conflict-resolution skills. Let's turn the focus away from the specific details of a single incident towards a discussion on this national trend of gendered violence.

Changing our culture to one that does not tolerate domestic violence is a long and many-pronged process. We can start by passing the Violence Against Women Act and putting acts such as the one Viens perpetrated in the context of abuse rather than lingering on the prurient details of a gruesome murder. Media are in a unique position to educate the public about the merits of treating domestic violence as a public health problem. Lives depend on it.