Stats

Domestic Violence:
The Statistics

General Domestic Violence Statistics:

Nearly 1/3 of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. (Commonwealth Fund survey, 1998)
During 1992 and 1993 women were the victims of more than 4.5 million violent crimes, including approximately 500,000 rapes or other sexual assaults. In 29 percent of the violent crimes against women by lone offenders the perpetrators were intimates--husbands, former husbands, boyfriends or former boyfriends. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, January, 1994)
It is estimated that 503,485 women are stalked by an intimate partner each year in the United States. (National Institute of Justice, July 2000)
Estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend each year to 4 million women who are physically abused by their husbands or live-in partners each year. (Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, U.S. Department of Justice, March, 1998)
Of women who reported being raped and/or physically assaulted since the age of 18, three quarters (76 percent) were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabitating partner, date or boyfriend. (Prevalence Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, U.S. Department of Justice, November, 1998)
The majority of welfare recipients have experienced domestic violence in their adult lives and a high percentage are currently abused. (Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare, The Taylor Institute, April, 1997)
The National Domestic Violence Hotline has received more than 700,000 calls for assistance since February 1996. (National Domestic Violence Hotline, December 2001)
Forty-five percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by multiple offenders also involved offenders they knew. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, January, 1994)

Domestic Violence Statistics related to hospitalization or murder:

In 1996, among all female murder victims in the U.S., 30% were slain by their husbands or boyfriends. In 1990, more than 800 women were killed by their husbands; 400 more were killed by their boyfriends. (Uniform Crime Reports of the U.S. 1996, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1996)
One-third of all female homicide victims are killed by husbands,
ex-husbands, boyfriends or ex-boyfriends. (NCJA Justice Research, "States, Federal Government Increasing Focus on Violence Against Women,"September/October 1990, p. 3 )
More than twice as many women are killed by their husbands or boyfriend as are murdered by strangers. (Arthur Kellerman, "Men, Women and Murder," The Journal of Trauma, July 17, 1992, pp. 1-5 )
On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. In 1999, 1,642 murders were attributed to intimates; 74 percent of the murder victims (1,218 total) were women. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-99, October 2001)
Females accounted for 39% of the hospital emergency department visits for violence-related injuries in 1994 but 84% of the persons treated for injuries inflicted by intimates. (Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, U.S. Department of Justice, March, 1998)
Family violence costs the nation from $5 to $10 billion annually in medical expenses, police and court costs, shelters and foster care, sick leave, absenteeism, and non-productivity. (Medical News, American Medical Association, January, 1992)

Domestic Violence Statistics pertaining to violent crimes against women vs. those against men:

Violence by an intimate partner accounts for about 21% of violent crime experienced by women and about 2% of the violence experienced by men.
In 92% of all domestic violence incidents, crimes are committed by men against women.
During 1992 approximately 28 percent of female homicide victims (1,414 women) were known to have been killed by their husbands, former husbands or boyfriends. In contrast, just over 3 percent of male homicide victims (637) were known to have been killed by their wives, former wives or girlfriends.
Women were attacked about six times more often by offenders with whom they had an intimate relationship than were male violence victims during 1992 and 1993, the Department of Justice announced.
While women are less likely than men to be victims of violent crimes overall, women are 5 to 8 times more likely than men to be victimized by an intimate partner.

Domestic Violence Statistics related to children and teens in domestic abuse situations:

In a national survey of over 6,000 American families, 50% of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children. (Physical violence in American families, 1990)
Over 3 million children are at risk of exposure to parental violence each year. ("Children's Observations of Interparental Violence" in Edwards, A.R. (ed.). Battered Women and Their Families, 1984)
Child abuse is 15 times more likely to occur in families where domestic violence is present. (The Family Secret. Boston, 1983)
A comparison of delinquent and nondelinquent youth found that a history of family violence or abuse is the most significant difference between the two groups. ("Violence By and Against America's Children," 1989)
A child�s exposure to the father abusing the mother is the strongest risk factor for transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next. (Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, APA, 1996)
Men who have witnessed their parents' domestic violence are three times more likely to abuse their own wives than children of non violent parents, with the sons of the most violent parents being 1000 times more likely to become wife beaters. (Behind Closed Doors , 1980)
Children who witness violence at home display emotional and behavioral disturbances as diverse as withdrawal, low self-esteem, nightmares, self-blame and aggression against peers, family members and property. (Ending the Cycle of Violence: Community Responses to Children of Battered Women, 1995)
In some states, 63% of the children in jail for murder are there for the killing of an abusive parent.
Children who witness domestic violence are six times more likely to commit suicide.
Forty percent of teenage girls age 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend. (Children Now/Kaiser Permanente poll, December, 1995)
One in five female high school students reports being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner. (Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), August 20)

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