HCDVCC is proud to join with the Brain Injury Association of America and advocates across the country to recognize March as Brain Injury Awareness Month. It is critical to educate advocates and the public on the intersection of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and intimate partner violence (IPV).
What is TBI?
an injury to the brain that is caused by external physical force and is not present at birth or degenerative such as:
– A blow to the head e.g., being hit on the head forcefully with object or fist, having one’s
head smashed against object/wall, falling and hitting head, gunshot to head.
– Shaking of the brain e.g., forceful whip-lash motion, actions that force the brain to hit the wall of the skull.
– A loss of oxygen to the brain (anoxia) e.g., airway obstruction caused by choking, strangulation, near drowning or drug reactions.

TBI can be mild to severe and cause many detrimental effects that impede the pursuit of safety and economic stability.
More than 5.3 million Americans are living with traumatic brain injury-related disabilities at a cost of more than $76.5 billion (in 2010 dollars) each year. The number of people who sustain brain injuries and do not seek treatment is unknown including and especially IPV survivors. More than 3.6 million people sustain an acquired brain injury (any injury to the brain that is not hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma each year). That’s one in every 60 people. Few are aware of it, but head injury kills more Americans under the age of 34 than all other causes combined!