Supporting Perinatal Patients Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

This two‑session virtual training series supports health center staff, clinicians, and leadership teams in strengthening responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy, birth, and early parenting. 

 Grounded in survivor-centered, whole-person practice and informed by the STARS Coordinated Community Response Framework, the series moves from individual-level clinical understanding and response to institutional practices that support care quality, patient safety, staff sustainability, and organizational accountability within real-world constraints. 

 Session 1 focuses on building shared understanding of the complexities of perinatal IPV, examining bias and systemic barriers, and strengthening patient-facing responses that honor survivor autonomy and reduce risk. 

 Session 2 focuses on the institutional conditions that make IPV‑responsive care possible and sustainable, including standardized screening and response pathways, safer documentation practices, mandatory reporting considerations, and meaningful ways to measure impact without increasing risk to survivors. 

 This training is designed for Federally Qualified Health Centers and primary care settings seeking to align compassionate, survivor‑centered care with quality improvement, compliance, and sustainability goals. 

Session 1: Understanding Perinatal IPV & Supporting Patients in Practice 
Session 1 builds shared understanding of how intimate partner violence uniquely impacts patients during pregnancy and early parenting—and how clinical and system responses can either support safety and trust or unintentionally cause negative outcomes. 

Participants will explore the clinical, emotional, and behavioral health implications of IPV exposure, examine personal and institutional bias, and learn practical, survivor‑centered strategies for responding to disclosures without coercion, surveillance, or unnecessary escalation. The session emphasizes immediately applicable language and approaches that clinicians and staff can use in everyday encounters. 

 Learning Objectives
By the end of Session 1, participants will be able to: 

Describe how intimate partner violence uniquely affects patients during pregnancy, birth, and early parenting, including clinical and behavioral health implications 
Identify common systemic and personal barriers that prevent patients from disclosing violence or accessing support 
Recognize how bias, assumptions, and one-size-fits-all responses can unintentionally increase negative outcomes 
Apply survivor-centered, whole-person response strategies, including consent-forward conversation language and choice-based support options 
Explain the purpose of the STARS Framework and how it supports safer, more coordinated clinical responses 
Explain mandatory reporting requirements at a high level and describe how reporting practices can impact survivor safety, trust, and engagement in care 
Identify principles of privacy‑protective documentation that support patient autonomy while protecting clinicians and institutions 
Describe how standardized screening tools and disclosure pathways can reduce variability, confusion, and risk across teams 
Recognize common implementation challenges in IPV‑responsive care and identify opportunities for systems improvement 
Identify meaningful, non‑harmful ways to measure impact (e.g., process reliability, staff confidence, patient experience) without increasing risk to survivors 
Understand how STARS‑aligned practices support care quality, staff sustainability, and institutional accountability

Session 2: Improving Care Quality, Documentation, and Institutional Support 
Session 2 focuses on the institutional practices and systems that shape how IPV‑responsive care is delivered and sustained. Participants will explore how health centers can standardize screening, documentation, and response pathways in ways that protect both survivors and clinicians, while aligning with quality improvement goals, compliance requirements, and organizational realities. 

 The session addresses safer documentation and information‑sharing, mandatory reporting considerations, implementation challenges, and practical approaches to measuring impact without relying on identifying or punitive data. Emphasis is placed on building clarity, consistency, and support for staff while maintaining survivor autonomy and safety. 

 Learning Objectives: 
By the end of Session 2, participants will be able to: 

Explain mandatory reporting requirements at a high level and describe how reporting practices can impact survivor safety, trust, and engagement in care 
Identify principles of privacy‑protective documentation that support patient autonomy while protecting clinicians and institutions 
Describe how standardized screening tools and disclosure pathways can reduce variability, confusion, and risk across teams 
Recognize common implementation challenges in IPV‑responsive care and identify opportunities for systems improvement 
Identify meaningful, non‑harmful ways to measure impact (e.g., process reliability, staff confidence, patient experience) without increasing risk to survivors 
Understand how STARS‑aligned practices support care quality, staff sustainability, and institutional accountability

 About the Framework 
This training is grounded in the STARS Coordinated Community Response Framework, an evidence‑informed model designed by Cassandra Aho based on her combined experience as a survivor, midwife, and public health researcher. 

 STARS integrates lived expertise, clinical practice, and interdisciplinary research to support survivor-centered, whole-person responses to intimate partner violence during pregnancy and early parenting. The framework bridges individual-level care with institutional systems change, prioritizing autonomy, safety, coordination, and sustainability across healthcare and community settings. 

Cassandra Aho, MA-MCHS, CPM
Founder
Survivor-Led Change

Cassandra is a survivor, midwife, and public health researcher specializing in perinatal exposure to intimate partner violence. She is the designer of the STARS Coordinated Community Response Framework, an evidence‑informed model grounded in lived experience, clinical practice, and systems research. Cassandra works with healthcare organizations to strengthen survivor‑centered, whole-person responses that support patient safety, clinician confidence, and institutional sustainability. 

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