Domestic violence accounts for fifteen percent of all violent crimes, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). Regardless of gender, age or race, it’s prevalent in every community. Thousands of phone calls are made to hotlines nationwide by victims searching for help, but the violence still leaves both physical and emotional scars.

FACE TO FACE: The Domestic Violence Project is a humanitarian program that offers pro bono facial plastic and reconstructive surgery to domestic violence survivors to repair injuries on the face, head and neck caused by an intimate partner or spouse. In honor of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness month, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) and FACE TO FACE created an infographic to shed light and raise awareness about domestic violence and the treatments the project provides to survivors.

Click here to view the FACE TO FACE infographic: https://www.aafprs.org/media/press-release/20170927.html

One million of the five million women affected each year by domestic violence in the US require medical attention. It is a harrowing experience for survivors and even more troublesome is the physical damage that can remain long after the relationship has ended.

“Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the US,” says Fred Fedok, M.D. and President of AAFPRS. “FACE TO FACE empowers individuals to overcome the physical limitations placed on them by circumstances beyond their control and continues to set precedent in the medical community as the first surgical group to take a stand with its landmark humanitarian initiative.”

The FACE TO FACE: The Domestic Violence Project program aims to change the lives of women and encourage them to empower their own lives and free themselves from harmful situations to go on to live successful, happy lives. The physicians who have participated in the program have helped more than 1,000 women since its inception in 1994.

The AAFPRS works hand-in-hand with shelters nationwide to ensure the individual is counseled emotionally, has contacted a domestic violence shelter and is safely away from the violent relationship. Once the individual has begun the inner healing process, they will be referred to a surgeon.

“Our FACE TO FACE surgeons volunteer their time and effort to help victims of domestic violence who have suffered facial trauma,” says Manoj T. Abraham, M.D. and Chair of FACE TO FACE. “It is our hope that by helping improve the visible evidence of the suffering these domestic violence survivors have endured, we can help them heal and return to their families and communities.”

[Source: PR Newswire]