Safe sourcing

“The Alaska Beacon is not naming her for safety reasons — one of her abusers has tracked her to her new home before.”

Lived expertise

“Few people who provide services understand the link between traumatic brain injury and domestic violence better than Kimberly Sumner, who manages the state’s Traumatic and Acquired Brain Injury grant program in Juneau. She identifies as a survivor of both TBI and of domestic violence. Now she helps other people who have sustained trauma.”

Diverse perspectives

“Patty Raymond Turner, a traumatic brain injury expert with the University of Alaska’s Center for Human Development, has devoted her career to raising awareness about TBI. As part of a statewide campaign, she compiled the numerous symptoms of TBI in a brochure. It reads like a list of common complaints from women who have experienced domestic violence or trauma, and there is overlap with the symptoms of post traumatic stress syndrome: trouble sleeping and concentrating, mood changes, memory issues.”

Approachable data

“Research in this area is scarce, but an Ohio study showed that among victims of domestic violence, 85% experienced blows to the head — of those, it happened to half of them more times than they could count. Further, 83% experienced strangulation, which can also cause traumatic brain injury. A national study found that 80% of domestic violence victims have sustained multiple traumatic brain injuries, but only about 20% sought medical attention at the time of an injury.”

Explores solutions

Kelley Hartlieb, a project coordinator for the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Center for Human Development, is part of the team that is working on the Alaska State Plan for Brain Injury. “Recognizing that survivors of interpersonal violence are people who experience brain injury at an increased rate, my part in the project is to develop a screening tool,” she said. That facet of the work has taken off in the last two years, she said. The goal is for victim advocates to understand the intersection between domestic or intimate partner violence and brain injuries — and how to better help clients who have them.

Challenges misconceptions

“Her experience working with survivors taught her that perpetrators can use cognitive difficulties against their victims by telling them that they’re stupid, lazy or unfit to care for their children, when in reality the victims are trying to function after brain injury.”