10 Important Facts About Domestic Violence

1. On average, more than 3 women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003)
2. Morethan 500,000 women each year require medical treatment from abuse. (Tjaden P., Thoennes N. Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women:  Finding from the National Violence Against Women Survey, NIJ; 2000)
3. Approximately 1.5 million (1 in 4) women are physically assaulted by an  intimate partner each year. (Tjaden, Thoennes, 2000)
4. Women of all races are about equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, August 1995)
5. Men who are physically violent toward their partners are likely to use violence toward children. (Strauss, Murray et al, Physical Violence in American Families; Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1990)
6. Domestic violence is a learned behavior, not caused by genetics, disease, alcohol and drugs, stress and anger, loss of control, nor the behavior of the victim.
7. Frequently it is the failure of lack of information and support systems that keeps women trapped.
8. Nearly two-thirds of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend or date. (Tjaden and Thoennes, 2000)
9. Woman are more likely than men to be murdered in the context of intimate partner violence. Women ages 20 to 29 years are at greatest risk of being killed by an intimate partner. (Paulozzi, L.J., Saltzman, LA, Thompson, MJ, Holmgreen, P.  Surveillance for homicide among intimate partners - United States, 1981-1998.  CDC Surveillance Summaries 2001; 40 (SS-3): 1-16)
10. As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during their pregnancy. (Gazmararian JA, Petersen R, Spitz AM, Goodwin MM, Saltzman LE, Marks JS. Violence and reproductive health; current knowledge and future research directions.  Maternal and Child Health Journal 2000.)

Help is available to stop the cycle of domestic violence. If you or someone you know is in an abusive situation, please visit the How to Get Help section of this site.

If you are interested in supporting Haven Hills' crusade against domestic violence, please visit the Volunteer and How You Can Help sections of this web site.