Narrator: This is Science Today. There are so many barriers when it comes to victims discussing domestic violence. But Barbara Gerbert, a behavioral scientist at the University of California, San Francisco, is shedding light on how physicians have helped victims of domestic violence speak up and ultimately seek help.

Gerbert: Women told stories about physicians who had seemed non-judgmental, who had asked in a way that gave them permission to reveal what was truly going on, who had seemed genuinely concerned and seem to have time to listen if there was an affirmative answer that they had been abused.

Narrator: Many of the women interviewed also felt validated by their doctors telling them either directly or indirectly, that they didn't deserve the abuse.

Gerbert: We think that the main message that we have - that validation is important for victims of domestic violence, applies to anyone.

Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.