Help, Health for the Weakest

There’s more to building a healthy community than making sure everyone gets a flu shot and eats plenty of veggies.

Just as important are programs to prevent abuse of the young, the old, the weak and the disabled.

We applaud the cooperation and hard work that produced the Ventura County Family Violence Prevention Partnership strategic plan, approved last week by the Board of Supervisors. It seeks to improve coordination among the numerous agencies and organizations already working in Ventura County to combat abuse among various segments of the population, to fill in the gaps and to increase public awareness of the problem.

Although the serious problems of spousal abuse and child abuse have received considerable public attention in recent years, less notice has been paid to exploitation of or violence against the elderly and the disabled. According to testimony cited in the plan, “Children with any kind of disability are more than twice as likely as nondisabled children to be physically abused and almost twice as likely to be sexually abused.”

The working group that drew up the strategic plan was a joint effort of the county Human Services Agency, Public Health Department and Commission for Children, Families and the Community. Its steering committee defined family violence as “a learned pattern of abusive behaviors. This abuse may include physical, verbal, sexual, spiritual, financial and emotional oppression. In abusive relationships one person uses force and intimidation to dominate or control the other person. . . . Family violence occurs in all ages, ethnic groups, genders and social classes.”

To combat such a ubiquitous foe requires a many-faceted approach. Among the strategies outlined in the plan are creating a Web site, speakers bureau and media campaign to raise public awareness of various types of abuse, bridging the gaps between organizations dedicated to defending specific populations, collecting more useful data and stepping up investigation and prosecution.

The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, psychological and social well-being, not merely infirmity or the absence of disease.

With this coordinated effort to protect its weakest members from abuse, the Ventura County community will be stronger, safer and healthier.