Nearly 2 in 3 female victims of violence were related to or knew their attacker. (Ronet Bachman Ph.D., U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report," January 1994, p. iii)
* Someone known to them committed two-thirds of violent victimization against women: 31% of female victims reported that the offender was a stranger.
*Approximately 28% were intimates such as husbands or boyfriends.
*35% were acquaintances, and the remaining.
*5% were other relatives.
Ronet Bachman Ph.D., U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report," January 1994, p. 1)
Almost 6 times as many women victimized by intimates (18%) as those victimized by strangers (3%) did not report their violent victimization to police because they feared reprisal from the offender. (Ronet Bachman Ph.D., U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report," January 1994, p. 1)
Annually, compared to males, females experienced over 10 times as many incidents of violence by an intimate. On average each year, women experienced 572,032 violent victimizations at the hands of an intimate, compared to 48,983 incidents committed against men. (Ronet Bachman Ph.D., U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report," January 1994, p. 6)
Battered women seek medical attention for injuries sustained as a consequence of domestic violence significantly more often after separation than during cohabitation; about 75% of the visits to emergency rooms by battered women occur after separation (Stark and Flitcraft, 1988). About 75% of the calls to law enforcement for intervention and assistance in domestic violence occur after separation from batter’s. One study revealed that half of the homicides of female spouses and partners were committed by men after separation from batter’s (Barbara Hart, Remarks to the Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, April 1992)
Twenty years ago, the first battered women's shelter in the United States, Women's Advocates, was opened in St. Paul, Minnesota. This program is still in existence today. (NCADV VOICE Spring, 1994)
There are 1,500 shelters for battered women in the United States. There are 3,800 animal shelters (Schneider, 1990).
Each year, medical expenses from domestic violence total at least $3 to $5 billion. Businesses forfeit another $100 million in lost wages, sick leave, absenteeism productivity. (Domestic Violence for Health Care Providers, 3rd Edition, Colorado Domestic Violence Coalition, 1991and non-.)
It is estimated that 25% of workplace problems such as absenteeism, lower productivity, turnover and excessive uses of medical benefits are due to family violence. (Employee Assistance Providers/MN)
Violence is the reason stated for divorce in 22% of middle-class marriages. (EAP Digest November/December 1991)
From 1983 to 1991, the number of domestic violence reports received increased by almost 117%. (NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, 1983 and 1991)