Dating violence prevention programs, which originated in the United States, are beginning to be implemented elsewhere. This article presents the first adaptation of a violence prevention program for a European culture, Francophone Switzerland. A U.S. dating violence prevention program, Safe Dates (Foshee & Langwick, 1994), was reviewed in 19 youth and 4 professional focus groups. The most fundamental program concepts--"dating" and "violence"--are not the same in Switzerland and the United States. Swiss youth were not very focused on establishing monogamous romantic relationships, and there is no ready translation for "dating." Violence has not become the focus of a social movement in Switzerland to the same extent that it has in the United States, and distinctions among terms such as "dating violence" and "domestic violence" are not well known. Psychoeducational approaches are also less common in the Swiss context. As the movement to prevent violence extends worldwide, these issues need greater consideration.

ObjectivesTo assess consequences of physical violence at work and identify their predictors.MethodsAmong the patients in a medicolegal consultation from 2007 to 2010, the subsample of workplace violence victims (n = 185) was identified and contacted again in average 30 months after the assault. Eighty-six victims (47 %) participated. Ordinal logistic regression analyses assessed the effect of 9 potential risk factors on physical, psychological and work consequences summarized in a severity score (0–9).ResultsSeverity score distribution was as follows: 4+: 14 %; 1–3: 42 %; and 0: 44 %. Initial psychological distress resulting from the violence was a strong predictor (p < 0.001) of the severity score both on work and long-term psychological consequences. Gender and age did not reach significant levels in multivariable analyses even though female victims had overall more severe consequences. Unexpectedly, only among workers whose jobs implied high awareness of the risk of violence, first-time violence was associated with long-term psychological and physical consequences (p = 0.004). Among the factors assessed at follow-up, perceived lack of employers’ support or absence of employer was associated with higher values on the severity score. The seven other assessed factors (initial physical injuries; previous experience of violence; preexisting health problems; working alone; internal violence; lack of support from colleagues; and lack of support from family or friends) were not significantly associated with the severity score.ConclusionsBeing a victim of workplace violence can result in long-term consequences on health and employment, their severity increases with the seriousness of initial psychological distress. Support from the employer can help prevent negative outcomes.

New forms of nursing are indeed practiced in the forensic clinical setting, and our findings suggest that nursing practice in this domain is following the footprints of an advanced nursing practice model. Further reflections are required to determine whether the role of the forensic nurse in Switzerland should be developed as a clinical nurse specialist or that of a nurse practitioner.

Objectives: To describe male victims of physical violence by an intimate partner who consulted a medico-legal unit, and information available on their perpetrators; to characterize the violent events and their contexts. Little research exists on male victims of physical intimate partner violence seeking medical care. Method: Based on Heise's ecological framework, mixed methods were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data collected during 122 medico-legal consultations attended by 115 men who sustained physical violence by an intimate partner from 2006-2012. Results: quantitative and quantitative data collected from male victims concurred in showing that many of such victims, as well as their partners, faced at the time of the assault multiple adversities and challenges at individual and relationship levels. Among male victims, 26 % had no paid job. Among perpetrators, 34% were third-country nationals subject to restricted residence permits. Health issues, worries about money or work combined with complex and conflictive family situations were often in the background of violent events. In a few cases however, male victims reported no other problems than their partner's assault. Conclusions: our findings point out gender-specific aspects of female to male physical partner violence. The most common feature is that violence was experienced as one among several adversities. Even though wounds sustained by male victims were not necessarily severe, their emotional suffering was frequent. When under-age children were involved, their situation was particularly noteworthy. Interventions with male victims of intimate partner violence should include protection of minors as a priority and as an incentive for fathers to seek help.

Purpose: Evidence to inform assessment of needs of children exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) in health settings is limited. A Swiss hospital-based medico-legal consultation for adult victims of violence also detects children's exposure to IPV and refers cases to the Pediatrics Child Abuse and Neglect Team. Based on a conceptual ecological framework, this study examined the nature and circumstances of children's exposure to IPV described in accounts collected by nurses in consultations with adult IPV victims. Methods: From 2011-2014, 438 parents (88% female) of 668 children aged 0 to 18 sought medico-legal care from the Violence Medical Unit in Lausanne Switzerland, following assaults by intimate partners (85% male). As part of the consultation, nurses completed a semi-structured questionnaire CHILDREN'S EXPOSURE TO IPV IN SWITZERLAND 2 with victimized parents, recording their answers in the patient file. Victims' statements about the abuse, their personal, family and social contexts, and their children's exposure to IPV were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic content analyses were conducted to identify, from the victimized parents' accounts, elements useful to understand the nature and circumstances of children's exposure and involvement during violent events. Results: Parent statements on specific violent events described children being present in 75% of the cases. Children were said to be exposed to, and responded to, severe physical violence, serious threats and insults, in the context of repeated assaults and coercive control. Families, especially mothers, were often coping with additional socioeconomic vulnerabilities. Conclusions: Implications for further developing assessments of children living with IPV, especially in health settings were identified.