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According to the U.S. Surgeon General, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States.
•The American Medical Association estimates that their male partners assault 2 million American women each year.
•The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 95% of the victims of domestic violence are women.
•A woman is beaten every 15 seconds in the United States. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report to the nation on Crime and Justice. The Data. Washington DC Office of Justice Program, US Dept. of Justice. Oct 1983)
•35% of all emergency room calls are a result of domestic violence.
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Each day .....4 women die as a result of abuse.
•The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that 32% of female homicide victims are killed by their intimate partners. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States 1999.2000)
•Anywhere from 1-3 million women are battered each year by their intimate partner. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence. Washington DC, 2000.)
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In the United States, a woman is more likely to be assaulted, raped, or killed by an intimate partner than by any other type of assailant. (ibid.)
•Nearly one-third of American women report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. (Commonwealth Fund Survey, 1998.)
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Approximately 85% of the victims of domestic violence are women. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence. Washington DC, 2000.)
•37% of all women who sought care in hospital emergency rooms for violence related injuries were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. (US Department of Justice, Violence Related injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments, August 1997.)
•11% of all murders in 1998 were the result of domestic violence. (Office of justice Programs, May 17, 2000 press release ,
Office of Justice Programs)
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Domestic violence occurs to all types of women regardless of income, age, race, education, or belief system. (Office for Victims of Crime, Domestic Violence Victimization, 2002)
•Victimization by domestic violence is usually not a single even. If a woman is abused once, her risk of further abuse is high, and this abuse often becomes not only more frequent over time, but more severe. (ibid.)
