Mandatory Reporting of Wife Assault by HealthCare Professionals

This article examines the issue of mandatory reporting of wife assault' by health care professionals. Should a health care professional who believes that a patient is being abused by her partner have a legal duty to report that belief, and the information on which it is based, to a designated government ministry or department?2 Such reporting is already required for cases of suspected child abuse and, in one province, for suspected abuse of adults who are mentally or physically unable to protect themselves from the abuse.