Draft:Anne H. Flitcraft

Anne H. Flitcraft is an American physician and educator whose research focused on the connection between domestic abuse and women's health. Throughout her career, she was a primary care physician, as well as an Associate Professor of Medicine. She worked with many organizations to develop continuing education programs and guidelines for physicians and the care of abused individuals.

Life & Career

Early Life & Education

Flitcraft was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, in October 1948. She is one of four children born to a nurse and a chemical engineer. Her father's work with NASA is what introduced science into her life.

She began her college career as a pre-medicine major in 1966 at DePauw University in Green Castle, Indiana, where she attended for two years. During this time was the Poor People's Campaign, causing Flitcraft to transfer to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana and become a philosophy major to do work in domestic politics and anti-war movements. In the spring of 1970, Cambodia was invaded by the U.S., which prompted Flitcraft to become an art major specializing in basket weaving, as her sister previously graduated from Earlham College as an art major specializing in ceramics. However, this did not last long as Flitcrart then began to work in the Friends Service Committee for anti-war work until the end of the war. Simultaneously, she went back to night school at the University of Pennsylvania, where she got her degree in biology before attending Yale Medical School in 1973.

Following graduation from Yale Medical School, Flitcraft used her medical school and residency experiences to influence her research on domestic abuse and its effect on domestic abuse.

In the mid-1970s in the U.S., there was the issue of the Rape Crisis Movement and the Women's Movement that advocated for sufficient prosecution and hospital care for victims of abuse. Flitcraft became involved in the early formation of conscientious groups that bridged the gap between medicine and politics for her as a medical student. Additionally, with this medical background, she was able to observe the absence of sensitive care for victims, as well as the absence of conscience acknowledgment or treatment of abusive personal relationships. Thus began her interest in "the issue of violence in our inner-personal relationships."

Career & Contributions

Flitcraft's commitment to educating others about the negative effects of domestic violence on one's health has defined her professional path. Frequently adopting a feminist viewpoint, her study emphasizes the structural problems that both cause and sustain abuse. She has written a great deal about the connection between child abuse and women's violence, highlighting the concern that medical professionals must acknowledge and address in their work.

Her efforts to include domestic violence education in medical school curricula are among Flitcraft's most important accomplishments. The American Medical Association, the American Medical Women's Association, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the American College of Emergency Medicine, and the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General are just a few of the organizations with which she has worked. She contributed to the creation of training initiatives that provide aspiring medical professionals the know-how and abilities needed to recognize, assist, and refer victims of domestic abuse to appropriate resources. Additionally, she assisted clinics and hospitals in creating well-rounded programs that target recognizing, assisting, and assisting women in abusive situations as co-director of the Domestic Violence Training Project (DVTP).

Flitcraft spent a lot of her career practicing primary care and has been actively involved in medical education in addition to her advocacy activities. Her contributions to medical education were acknowledged with many faculty teaching honors at the Burgdorf Health Center in Hartford, Connecticut, where she has taught medical residents and students. Her instruction focused on the significance of identifying and resolving domestic abuse, as well as raising awareness of abuse as a public health issue. She was an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine until she retired in 2013. She has continued teaching first-year medical students at Yale Medical School since her retirement to ensure that future generations of healthcare workers receive sufficient training regarding the significance of including domestic violence sensitivity and prevention in their work.

Awards and Publications

A few of Flitcraft's notable awards and publications:

• Stark E, Flitcraft A. H. "Women and Children at Risk: A Feminist Perspective on Child Abuse." International Journal of Health Services. 1988;18(1):97-118. doi:10.2190/3K8F-KDWD-QYXK-2AX5.
• Stark, E., Flitcraft, A. H., Rosenberg, M. L., & Fenley, M. A. (1991). "Spouse Abuse." In Violence in America: A Public Health Approach (pp. 123-157). essay, Oxford University Press. Retrieved May 15, 2024, from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&Ir=&id=Ws25u8030C&o=fnd&pg=PA123&dq=Anne +H.+Flitcraft&Ots=oDnOuKftzC&sig=MhqUc8RPxXjxq_4TY45_Aj8WC08#v=onepage&q=Anne920H.%20Flitcraft&f=false.
• Received the "Elizabeth Blackwell Award for 'outstanding contributions to the cause of women in medicine' from the American MedicalWomen's Association in 1994"