LANCASTER — One in four women and one in seven men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. In an effort to promote awareness and improve collaboration between local agencies, Antelope Valley Hospital’s Forensic Services Unit is holding a symposium titled “Domestic Violence in the Antelope Valley.”
The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, at the hospital’s Community Resource Center (north side entrance), located at 44151 15th Street West in Lancaster.
The seminar is open to the public, and the cost to attend is $10. Continuing education units (CEUs) are available from the California Board of Registered Nursing.
“Domestic violence is a local and national health epidemic,” said FSU Director Mary Reina, MSN, RN. “We must work together to break the cycle of violence through education, collaboration and action.”
The symposium will feature the following speakers:
- Carol Crabson, LCSW, CEO of Valley Oasis, who will answer the most common question about domestic violence: why do they stay?
- Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Alex Smith, who will discuss domestic violence in the workplace.
- Mary Reina, from Antelope Valley Hospital’s Forensic Services Unit, who will cover non-lethal strangulation.
View a flyer for the event here. For more information, call 661-949-5572 or email mary.reina@avhospital.org.
More on AV Hospital’s Forensic Services Unit
Realizing that violence is a healthcare issue, the Antelope Valley Healthcare District has been helping victims of crime for more than 35 years. Created in 2010, the Forensic Services Unit assesses, documents, photographs, collects evidence for and sometimes testifies on behalf of victims of assault. The only program of its kind in California, the FSU cares for more than 1,000 patients every year.
