Relevant Facts About Domestic Abuse and Violence
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was enacted in 1994 yet the cycle of violence alarmingly continues to grow—trapping, damaging, and destroying lives. According to the Texas Council on Family Violence, 25% of adult women in the U.S. report experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) at some point in their lives.
Approximately 11.5 million children in the U.S. live in family homes where partner violence occurred at least once in the preceding year. Out of this number, seven million live in homes where severe abuse takes place.
This silent epidemic affects women, children, and even men. It is an issue that is prevalent in both heterosexual and homosexual communities. The Power of Shoes believes that we should all start adopting a simple view: “Don’t take it. Don’t suffer in silence.”
Statistics
Domestic Violence Homicides
On average, more than three women and one man are murdered by their intimate partners in this country every day. In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner. The same year, 440 men were killed by an intimate partner. Intimate partner homicides accounted for 30% of the murders of women and 5% percent of the murders of men. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. 1993-2004, 2006.)
Most intimate partner homicides occur between spouses, though boyfriends/girlfriends have committed about the same number of homicides in recent years. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. 1993-2004, 2006.)
The health-related costs of intimate partner violence exceed $5.8 billion each year. Of that amount, nearly $4.1 billion are for direct medical and mental health care services, and nearly $1.8 billion are for the indirect costs of lost productivity or wages. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States, April 2003.)
About half of all female victims of intimate violence report an injury of some type, and about 20 percent of them seek medical assistance. (National Crime Victimization Survey, 1992-96; Study of Injured Victims of Violence, 1994)
Thirty-seven percent of women who sought treatment in emergency rooms for violence-related injuries in 1994 were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. (U.S. Department of Justice, Violence Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments, 1997)
Domestic Violence and Children
In a national survey of American families, 50% of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children. (Strauss, Murray A, Gelles, Richard J., and Smith, Christine. 1990. Physical Violence in American Families; Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers)
On average between 1993 and 2004, children under age 12 were residents of households experiencing intimate partner violence in 43% of incidents involving female victims and 25% of incidents involving male victims. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. 1993-2004, 2006.)
Studies suggest that between 3.3-10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually. (Carlson, Bonnie E. (1984)
Children’s observations of interpersonal violence. (Pp. 147-167 in A.R. Roberts (Ed.)
Battered women and their families (pp. 147-167). NY: Springer. Straus, M.A. (1992).
Children as witnesses to marital violence: A risk factor for lifelong problems among a nationally representative sample of American men and women. (Report of the Twenty-Third Ross Roundtable. Columbus, OH: Ross Laboratories.)