With more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and healthcare public safety, I have witnessed firsthand how deeply domestic violence and intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts the healthcare workforce. Most heartbreakingly, I have personally experienced the loss of a colleague to domestic violence.

Over the course of my career, I have supported colleagues who were subjected to sustained campaigns of harassment and manipulation by abusive partners, including repeated attempts to discredit them or get them terminated by contacting hospital leaders. I have helped develop safety plans for employees threatened by abuse partners, including arranging armed security escorts to accompany them to and from work. I have watched nurses resign without warning and relocate out of state because they feared for their lives. And I have endured the heartbreaking reality of losing a colleague to a domestic‑violence‑related death. These experiences underscore why healthcare organizations must recognize domestic violence as a pervasive threat and take proactive steps to address it.

October marks two important observances: Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Healthcare Security Appreciation Week. Together, they highlight an often-overlooked threat to healthcare environments – domestic violence occurring in homes and intimate relationships that follows survivors into hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare settings. When healthcare organizations treat domestic violence as a secretive, personal, or isolated issue, they waste valuable time better spent strengthening safety protocols and preventing spillover into care environments.

This spillover is a significant contributor to workplace violence in healthcare, the same industry already experiencing the highest rate of assaults of any occupational sector. As we honor the professionals who safeguard our facilities and raise awareness about domestic violence, we must acknowledge how these issues intersect and why healthcare organizations must proactively address domestic violence as a core component of their workplace violence prevention strategy.

The Scope of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence and IPV affect millions of people in the United States each year. More than one in three women (nearly 43.5 million) and more than one in six men (20.7 million) have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetimes (Zhang Kudon, 2026). Approximately 53% of those who perpetrated workplace violence had a history of domestic abuse (National Threat Assessment Center, 2026). 

These statistics are especially relevant to healthcare, where women make up the majority of the workforce. Healthcare professionals may be navigating the impacts of IPV in their personal lives while simultaneously caring for patients, increasing both personal vulnerability and organizational risk. At the same time, healthcare facilities regularly encounter patients seeking medical care while their abusers attempt to exert control during clinical encounters. The sheer scale of IPV ensures that every healthcare facility, regardless of size, location, or specialty, will encounter its effects, often in ways that elevate the risk of workplace violence.

Domestic Violence Among Healthcare Professionals: An Overlooked Risk

Healthcare professionals are often the first individuals survivors turn to for help, yet their own experiences with domestic violence are frequently overlooked in research, policy, and workplace violence prevention strategies. This is particularly concerning in healthcare, where women make up the majority of the workforce and may face a disproportionate burden of domestic violence and IPV.

Research on violence toward healthcare workers has traditionally focused on general workplace violence, which accounts for 73% of all nonfatal injuries due to violence that occurred in the U.S. work setting ( (Lombardi B, 2024), leaving the impact of domestic violence less understood and inadequately addressed. Yet the consequences of domestic violence and IPV  for healthcare professionals extend well beyond personal harm.

Domestic violence survivors often face increased risks of depression, anxiety, PTSD, burnout, and other chronic health conditions that can undermine employee well-being and affect clinical performance. Research has linked poor well-being and burnout among healthcare professionals with higher rates of self‑reported medical errors, raising additional patient safety concerns. The risks become even more significant when abusive partners interfere with or sabotage employees’ work through stalking, harassment, or workplace confrontation. These behaviors can jeopardize employee safety, disrupt clinical operations, and expose patients, co-workers, and visitors to potential violence.

For healthcare organizations, acknowledging and addressing domestic violence among staff means more than valuing and protecting individual survivors. It is a critical component of workforce safety, operational resilience, and high‑quality patient care.

The Hidden Pathways: How Domestic Violence Enters the Healthcare Environment

Domestic violence enters healthcare environments through several predictable and often escalating pathways, creating complex safety challenges for staff, patients, and visitors. Individuals experiencing abuse may present for medical care with injuries or behavioral health crises, sometimes accompanied by partners attempting to control the encounter. Abusers may also show up unannounced, seeking access to survivors in waiting rooms, parking lots, inpatient units, or other locations where survivors may be particularly vulnerable.

Healthcare workers themselves are frequently impacted. They may be stalked, harassed, or confronted at work. Custody disputes and family conflict can further heighten tensions in emergency, pediatric, and behavioral health settings, while domestic‑violence‑related behavioral health crises increase the likelihood of aggression toward staff.

Key Spillover Scenarios

• Patients presenting with abuse‑related injuries: Survivors arrive for care along with their abusers who attempt to monitor or control interactions.

• Abusers confronting survivors on‑site: Known places of employment and treatment locations, especially parking facilities, become predictable confrontation points.

• Staff experiencing domestic violence: Employees may be stalked, harassed, confronted or threatened at work.

• Custody disputes and family conflict: Issues that escalate into threats or physical altercations.

• Compromised patient safety: When domestic violence is present inside a healthcare facility, patient care is disrupted, clinical operations are interrupted, and safety protocols may be strained.

• Organizational liability – Failure to anticipate or mitigate domestic violence spillover can expose healthcare organizations to regulatory scrutiny, civil litigation, and reputational harm.

Evidence‑Based Solutions for Healthcare Organizations

Healthcare organizations can reduce the risk of domestic violence and IPV spillover and strengthen workplace safety by implementing structured, evidence‑based strategies. A comprehensive approach includes clear protocols, strong access control, staff training, cross‑sector partnerships, employee support mechanisms, and ongoing threat assessments. Together, these measures help healthcare systems identify risks early and intervene effectively to protect both staff and patients from violence.

Strategies for Preventing Domestic Violence Spillover

1. Implement a domestic violence response protocol and consider prevention order sets.
   • Private screening procedures
   • Trauma‑informed communication
   • Mandatory reporting guidance
   • Safe discharge planning
2. Strengthen access control and visitor management.
   • Single‑entry access
   • Visitor screening and badging
   • Real‑time watchlists for known threats
   • Rapid lockdown capability for sensitive units
3. Train staff to recognize warning signs.
   • Behavioral indicators of abusers
   • Signs of coercive control
   • Escalation patterns
   • Techniques to safely disengage and summon support
4. Build partnerships With Law Enforcement and Advocacy Groups
   • Local police threat briefings
   • Domestic violence advocacy partnerships
   • Joint safety planning for high‑risk patients or staff
5. Support employees experiencing domestic violence.
   • Confidential reporting pathways with an anonymous option
   • Safety escorts
   • Adjusted schedules or remote work options
   • EAP services with domestic violence expertise
6. Establish a multidisciplinary threat assessment team
   • Security/public safety/police
   • Human resources
   • Behavioral health
   • Legal/compliance
   • Clinical leadership

Domestic violence and IPV may begin outside the walls of a healthcare facility, but its consequences can reach every corner of the care environment. It is not just a personal issue; it impacts workplace safety, clinical care, and organizational risk. For healthcare systems, the spillover of domestic violence into clinical environments is both predictable and preventable. By strengthening policies, training, security infrastructure, and multidisciplinary coordination, healthcare organizations can reduce risk, protect staff, and ensure safer environments for everyone who provides, receives, or supports patient care.

Works Cited

Lombardi B, J. T. (2024). Trends in workplace violence for health care occupations and facilities over the last 10 years. Health Affairs Scholar.

National Threat Assessment Center (2026). Preventing Targeted Workplace Violence: A U.S. Secret Service Guide to Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management. U.S. Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security.

Zhang Kudon, H. Z. (2026). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2023/2024 Data Brief – Intimate Partner Violence. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.