Did you know:
- Nearly 1/3 of American women report being physically or sexually abused by an intimate sometime during their lives.
- 28% of all annual violence against women is perpetrated by intimates.
- 5% of all annual violence against men is perpetrated by intimates.
- Race is not indicative of who is at risk of domestic violence.
- Women ages 19-29 reported more violence by intimates than any other group.
- 90-95% of domestic violence victims are women.
- As many as 95% of domestic violence perpetrators are male.
- Domestic violence occurs within same-sex relationships with the same statistical frequency as heterosecual relationships.
- Much of female violence is committed in self-defense, and inflicts less injury.
- 70% of intimate homicide victims are female.
- 27% of domestic homicide victims are children.
- When children are killed, 90% are under age 10; 56% are under age 2.
- Immigrant women may suffer higher rates of battering than U.S. citizens because they may be from cultures which accept dometic violence or because they have less access to social services than U.S. citizens.
- Dometic violence has immediate and long term detrimental effects on children.
- Each year an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence by family members against their mothers or female caretakers.
- In homes where partner abuse occurs, children are 1,500 times more likely to be abused.
- 1 in 7 women will be sexually assaulted by her husband.
Unfortunately the statistics for Domestic Violence are on the increase.
It is up to those of us who have a voice; who are able to speak, to speak out against domestic violence. We will no longer remain silent.
Here are just some of the resources available online:
Statistical information supplied by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Domestic violence makes me feel so sick... to think that someone could be so violated by someone he/she trusts and cares about. I've been volunteering at Food Lifeline all year up in Shoreline and it kills me to see, on a daily basis, women on the bus I catch with huge black eyes and bruises on their arms. I've come in contact with several clients after food bank referrals that admit they are victims of abuse -- poverty, alcoholism and DV can be so intertwined that it becomes a vicious circle that's so hard to break out of.
Posted by: Stef | December 06, 2004 at 01:59 PM
Thank you for your insightful information.
I personally was not trying to make it sound like women are the only victims, men are also victims of domestic violence but for many varied reasons fail to report it.
I will be sure to pass your site information on to the Domestic Violence groups that I am in contact with so they can review/update their information.
Posted by: Faith | November 24, 2004 at 01:53 PM
Every October, in media throughout the country, both old and new, two statements are repeated so often they’ve almost become a mantra for domestic violence:
“95% of the victims of domestic violence are women,” and “every (fifteen, twelve, nine, eight, or six) seconds a woman is battered.”
Often, they take a prominent place in an article or website, and have even been used as a headline or lead. The problem with both of these statements is that they simply have no basis in fact.
Reporters believe them, because they are usually given by a spokesperson for a women’s shelter, or other service in aid of domestic violence victims. The fact that these statements seem to have taken on lives of their own does not make them any more credible. They are untrue, which is misleading to the public, and ultimately misrepresents the real picture of the issue.
These urban legends are debunked here:
http://desertlightjournal.blog-city.com/read/867130.htm
and here
http://desertlightjournal.blog-city.com/read/867233.htm
In October, the DesertLight Journal launched a campaign to combat these and other distortions in an effort to promote full awareness of the issue of domestic violence. DVA2004 – Media Recon, tracks stories on domestic violence and highlights those with inaccurate information and faulty statistics.
According to Trudy Schuett, Publisher of the DLJ, “There can never be any progress made in the treatment of victims or solving the problem until the issue is objectively recognized. There has been so much advocacy research, and political agenda obscuring the facts, that only a fraction of the victims can be helped by today’s programs. This is not even to mention the waste of taxpayer dollars in misguided services.”
Also on the website are the most-often repeated factual errors, with explanations why they are wrong and links to sources with correct information. In addition, the site provides background on the history of domestic violence programs, and how the problem came to be considered a “women’s issue.”
http://desertlightjournal.blog-city.com/index.cfm
Posted by: Trudy W. Schuett | November 24, 2004 at 06:52 AM