About Us
Leading Publisher of Scientific, Technical, & Medical Educational Resources
STM Learning—formerly G.W. Medical—is the expert in publishing leading clinical research for professionals who serve and protect victims of abuse. Our customers consider STM Learning products to be the most trusted scientific, technical, and medical resources available to aid in their efforts to identify, report, treat, and prevent child maltreatment and domestic violence.
We back each of our books with the latest evidence-based research and techniques identified by STM Learning’s interdisciplinary team of more than 1,300 authors and contributors. These men and women are internationally renowned leaders in their fields, representing medicine, government, law enforcement, psychiatry, psychology, social service, research, forensic nursing, public education, advocacy groups, and the judiciary, among others.
This combined expertise is reflected in STM Learning’s current product library, which includes dozens of guides, photographic atlases, and training curricula covering a wide range of maltreatment issues, such as:
We provide products in multiple formats to accommodate classroom, training, and courtroom settings, and in response to customer needs, we are continuing to add new titles and resources each year. Our comprehensive collection of scientific, technical, and medical products will soon include more training materials and new products on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of violence against women and children.
Our Purpose
One of the main tenets of the STM Learning mission is to provide relevant information to professionals and consumers who are in a position to protect victims of child maltreatment, sexual assault, and domestic violence.
Many of our customers are mandated reporters — individuals who, by virtue of their jobs, have regular interaction with children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and other potentially vulnerable populations and, therefore, are required to report whenever physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, or other forms of maltreatment have been witnessed or are suspected.
Children Continue To Be Victimized
STM Learning has become the premier provider of evidence-based clinical guides and photographic atlases designed to help mandated reporters and other advocates accurately assess, interpret, and report maltreatment. In 2018, 67.3% of child abuse reports were made by mandated reporters and other professionals. The highest percentages of reports came from legal and law enforcement personnel (18.7%), education personnel (20.5%), and social services personnel (10.7%). Our goal is to ensure that our customers have access to the most current identification, investigative, reporting, and documentation techniques available to help them protect maltreatment victims.
National statistics show that children are continuing to be victimized at extremely high rates:
- An estimated 1,700 children in the United States died from abuse and neglect in 2018. Of these fatalities, 70.6% were 3 years old or younger. Sadly, four-fifths of child fatalities involved parents acting alone, together, or with other individuals.
- In 2018, CPS agencies received an estimated 4.3 million abuse and neglect referrals that involved approximately 7.8 million children. Abuse and neglect are associated with short- and long-term consequences that may include brain damage, developmental delays, learning disorders, difficulty in forming relationships, aggressive behavior, and depression.
- Survivors of child abuse and neglect may be at greater risk for problems later in life, such as low academic achievement, drug use, teen pregnancy, and criminal behavior that affect not just the child and family, but society as a whole.
- There were about 678,000 victims of substantiated abuse and neglect in 2018, meaning caregivers failed to provide for a child’s basic needs.
- Girls are slightly more likely to experience abuse and neglect than boys. However, boys have a higher fatality rate.
- Children of all races and ethnicities experience abuse. African American children have the highest fatality rate, which is 2.8 times greater than the rate White children and 3.4 times greater than the rate of Hispanic children.
0
seconds, someone is assaulted in the US.0 in 3
girls will be sexually abused before age 180 in 7
children experience abuse or neglect yearly0 in 4
women have experienced IPVThese numbers are the basis of STM Learning’s mission. We will continue to work closely with our partners in medicine, law enforcement, social services, and the legal system to provide specialized clinical research that supports their ongoing efforts to end abuse.
Sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau; RAINN; The Advocacy Center; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; The American Society for the Positive Care of Children.
History
STM Learning was founded in 1992 by graphic designer Glenn Whaley. At the time, Glenn owned G.W. Graphics. He transitioned his company to G.W. Medical Publishing after deciding to use his formal design expertise to bring awareness to the plight of child abuse. That project resulted in the 1st edition of Child Maltreatment, a groundbreaking 1,200-page guide and photographic atlas that gave medical, legal, law enforcement, and community professionals a much-needed resource to help identify, report, and prosecute abuse cases.
The success of Child Maltreatment created a market demand for more research-based, clinical materials that could be used across multiple disciplines. These requests led to the publishing of Recognition of Child Abuse for the Mandated Reporter, followed by Child Abuse Quick Reference.
As our product library grew, we recognized the need for a company name that better reflected our full range of scientific, technical, and medical resources. In 2009, we changed our name to STM Learning to mirror this expansion and to acknowledge the evidence-based, expert content contained in each of our clinical guides, atlases, and training curricula.
Our early products focused solely on the maltreatment and abuse of children, as little to no information on those subjects was available for first responders when we began. Although our emphasis has expanded in recent years to include research and analysis of adult sexual assault and domestic violence, the protection of children remains a priority. Today, we have a significant number of published resources and several more in production, earning us a reputation among our customers as the leading publisher of maltreatment and abuse information services.
Editorial & Design Process
STM Learning is the premier publisher of information services on child abuse, child maltreatment, and domestic violence. We’ve earned this position, in part, because of the integrity of our publishing model, which relies on a well-executed editorial and design process.
Collaborative Product Planning: STM Learning partners with nationally and internationally renowned medical, legal, law enforcement, community, education, and social services experts to identify relevant clinical research and training content for our customers.
These professionals are among the most knowledgeable in their respective fields and have access to the latest studies, data, and trends on the identification, reporting, and treatment of abuse. With their help, STM Learning is able to develop interdisciplinary products that not only respond to our customers’ specialized training and research needs, but also keeps them at the forefront of their mission to prevent child maltreatment and domestic violence.
Professional and Experienced Authors and Contributors: Content for each STM Learning guide, photographic and pocket atlas, and training curriculum is developed organically to give our customers the most up-to-date research and training information. More than 1,300 world-recognized professionals are responsible for developing substantive content for each STM Learning title. Their expertise ensures that every chapter is well researched, accurately presented, and effectively supplemented with high-quality images and case studies.
Extensive Peer-Review Process: STM Learning applies an extensive peer-review process to every chapter we produce. Leading experts from multiple disciplines carefully review content and images to ensure accuracy, proper tone, and use of current research. Peer-review comments are then shared with all authors and contributors for updates and revisions. The STM Learning editorial team collaborates with authors and contributors to help maintain the overall integrity of each book throughout the peer-review and editorial process. We take careful measures to make sure that, above all, STM Learning products are of the highest quality, relevance, and accuracy for every customer.
Benefits of STM Learning Products
Medical, legal, law enforcement, and social services professionals worldwide consider STM Learning products the most trusted resource for individuals and organizations in positions to identify, report, treat, and prevent maltreatment and abuse.
STM Learning customers will receive the following benefits when they purchase our products:
- Scientific, Evidence-Based Content
- Expert Authors & Contributors
- High-Quality Design & Editorial Procedures
- Access To New Images & Case Studies
- Thoroughly Peer-Reviewed Information
