If you need immediate help or advocacy for your domestic violence situation
For deaf/hard of hearing: 1-855-812-1011 (VP), 1-800-787-3224 (TTY)
Online: https://www.thehotline.org/help/
Domestic violence-related traumatic brain injury (DV-related TBI) is a silent public health epidemic that destroys lives. Millions of women (in the USA alone and unaccounted children and men) incur TBI and neurodegenerative diseases from domestic violence. The symptoms of DV-related TBI and progressive neurodegenerative diseases can be debilitating and impair the ability of individuals affected to fully participate in the workforce, in education, in their communities, and in all aspects of life. Many end up dying as a result.
Pánfila Domestic Violence HOPE Foundation (“Pánfila”) was created to ensure that brain injuries suffered by persons who experience domestic violence will no longer be overlooked.
Just as our society could not ignore evidence of an epidemic of lung cancer caused by tobacco, in our times, we must demand action in response to the epidemic of DV-related TBI.
Pánfila believes our society will demand action in response to the silent epidemic of DV-related TBI. Science will be the game-changing factor that ends the stigma of domestic violence and opens up long-needed conversations about saving lives while developing needed treatment and resources to all individuals suffering from DV-related TBI and neurodegenerative diseases.
A powerful new documentary, This Hits Home, tells the story of Dr. Garay-Serratos’ domestic violence healing journey in the wake of learning that her mother’s repeated blows to the head from María’s father caused chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These progressive neurodegenerative disorders led to her mother’s premature death. This Hits Home reveals the shocking relationship that lies at the intersection of traumatic brain injury and domestic violence. The groundbreaking documentary by Scotia Entertainment brings together fearless survivors, grassroots workers acting to end domestic violence and leading neurologists to give a voice to an epidemic that has been largely silent.
Dr. Garay-Serratos is the Protagonist, Associate Producer, and Domestic Violence Expert Consultant for This Hits Home.
Have you seen
This Hits Home?
Click here to tell us what you learned from the film.
Tell us about your experience with domestic violence
Is DV-TBI a silent epidemic?