Domestic Violence in Curaçao: Increase in Health Utilization and respective Needs

There is a strong body of research that indicates an association between domestic violence and poor health outcomes. The range of risks related to domestic violence is very long starting from decreased general well being to increased mortality. Most of the research was produced in the last 30 years and there are still extensive gaps in the available literature. There are almost no longitudinal studies and most of the research focuses on the developed countries. This paper is based on a representative sample of 816 respondents and attempts to disclose the real impact of domestic violence on health care need and utilisation in Curacao. Its main goal is to stress the importance of the issue as a public policy concern. It reveals the scale of domestic violence prevalence and shows a strong association between different forms of abuse and negative healthcare outcomes.