McLeer, a nationally recognized expert in disorders of sexually abused children and battered women, delivered the keynote address at a conference on domestic violence sponsored by the UB Law School Alumni Association Thursday, Oct. 26. More than 100 area social workers, lawyers and law enforcement officers attended the day-long conference in O'Brian Hall.

McLeer told the crowd that the Western New York agencies they represented were "unique in the country" for the coordinated, regional response they have developed and that this was the first conference of its sort in New York State. "There are places out there where you can't get domestic violence counselors and child protective workers in the same room together," declared McLeer.

McLeer described the actual physical hitting of women as "only an outward, visible sign of an extremely malignant problem." Studies reveal that an estimated 20 percent of all adult women have been physically abused at least once in their lifetime, McLeer stated.

One study revealed that, among adults, 8.7 million cohabitating couples, nearly 17 percent of the population, reported they experienced some form of family violence. However, McCleer said, that study actually understated the full extent of the problem by ignoring separated and divorced couples.

In most jurisdictions, McLeer said, the responses of social welfare organizations to the problems of domestic violence have been "fragmented and polarized," with social workers frequently operating at cross-purposes. McLeer quoted a 1991 study of child protective services nationwide adding that "if we had intentionally sought to design a system to frustrate the professionals who staff it, anger the public that finances it and abandon the children who use it, we could not have done a better job."

Also, studies reveal that, in 1993, there were more than one million substantiated cases of child abuse, McLeer said. Children who witness acts of domestic violence also may suffer traumatic effects from it, according to McLeer. Although some experts attribute emotional and behavioral problems to such witnessing, there is little reliable data available, she said.

Experts do clearly agree that "the effects on children cannot be good," but McLeer fears that the additional trauma caused by removing such a child from the custody of the victim could exacerbate the problem.

"Are the consequences of this so bad that we should remove the child and place him or her into the foster care system?" McLeer asked. "I'm going to see a lot more data before I throw my hat into that ring." She called upon social workers involved in such situations to remember the Hippocratic oath, "Above all else, do no harm."