Intimate Partner Violence

The Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Task Force aims to raise awareness of the incidence of IPV in the surgical community, educate surgeons to recognize the signs and consequences of IPV in themselves and their colleagues, provide resources for survivors, and create resources and curricula to instruct surgeons about how to recognize IPV in colleagues and trainees.

What Is Intimate Partner Violence?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), IPV is a significant and preventable public health problem that affects millions of Americans. The term “intimate partner violence” describes physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, and psychological aggression (including coercive acts) by a current or former intimate partner.

An intimate partner is a person with whom one has a close personal relationship that can be characterized by the following:

Emotional connectedness
Regular contact
Ongoing physical contact and/or sexual behavior
Identity as a couple
Familiarity and knowledge about each other’s lives

A relationship does not need to involve all the dimensions outlined above. Examples of intimate partners include current or former spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, dating partners, significant others, or sexual partners. IPV can occur in heterosexual or same-sex relationships and does not require sexual intimacy. IPV exists on a continuum of severity and may range from a single transient episode to chronic and severe episodes spanning years and engendering significant physical and psychological trauma.*

ACS Statement on Intimate Partner Violence

The ACS IPV Task Force and Women in Surgery Committee updated the ACS Statement on Intimate Partner Violence developed by the Committee on Trauma (COT) in 2014. The revised statement replaced the COT’s 2000 Statement on Domestic Violence. The Board of Regents approved the statement at its June 2018 meeting in Chicago, IL.

Read the Statement

Contact Us

For more information about the Intimate Partner Violence Task Force, listed resources, or to recommend additional resources to add to the website please contact Jessie von Kuster, jvonkuster@facs.org.

IPV Resources

Access materials and information to help combat intimate partner violence.

ACS Intimate Partner Violence Task Force

Information about the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Task Force

ACS Intimate Partner Violence Toolkit

The Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Toolkit includes information on the risks of IPV, and how to recognize IPV in your colleagues, patients, and yourself.

IPV Webinars

Join us for conversations exploring the signs, consequences, and resources to address IPV.

*Breiding M, Basile K, Smith S, Black M, Mahendra R. Intimate Partner Violence Surveillance Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements Version 2.0. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2015. Available at: www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/intimatepartnerviolence.pdf. Accessed August 27, 2018.