The Black Church and Domestic Violence Institute ::

It is estimated that every 9 seconds, a woman is battered. -The Department of Justice, 1991

Domestic violence is any coercive behavior that is used by one adult over another in an intimate relationship. It consists of any type of abuse, which may be one or a combination of any of the following types:

- physical (beating)
- verbal (threats)
- sexual (rape)
- economic (taking her money)
- psychological (mind games)

Domestic violence is often overlooked as "a lovers' quarrel" or a "private family matter," but it is an epidemic that affects women of every class, race, sexual orientation and religion.

Ninety to ninety-five percent of domestic violence victims are women, and many of these women are active members in their local churches.

General Statistics About Domestic Violence:

v 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)

v Over two-thirds of violent victimizations against women were committed by someone known to them: 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)

v 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 batterers. One study revealed that half of the homicides of female spouses and partners were committed by men after separation from batterers (Barbara Hart, Remarks to the Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, April 1992)

v 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)

v In a study of females killed by intimate partners between 1980-1982, it was found that the majority of women killed were married (57.7%, n=2,415). Girlfriends were the next highest percentage (24.5%, n-1,041), followed by common-law wives *8%, n-332), ex-wives (4.89%, n-205) and friends (4.675, n-196). (Karen Stout, "Intimate Femicide: A National Demographic Overview," Violence Update, Vol. 1, No. 6, February 1991, p. 3)

v Women charged in the death of a mate have the least extensive criminal records of any people convicted. However, they often face higher penalties than men who kill their mates. FBI statistics indicate that fewer men are charged with first- or second-degree murder for killing a woman they have known than are women who kill a man they have known. Women convicted of these killings are frequently sentenced to longer prison terms than are men. (Angela Browne, When Battered Women Kill, New York, NY: The Free Press, 1987, p. 11)

v Abusive men who kill their partners serve an average of two-to-six year prison terms. (National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, 1988).

v The extremely long sentences women serve raises serious questions about the fairness of our criminal justice system. Women testifying before the Committee on Domestic Violence and Incarcerated Women averaged sentences of 15 years. (Battered Women and Criminal Justice: The Unjust Treatment of Battered Women in a System Controlled By Men, A Report of the Committee on Domestic violence and Incarcerated Women, June 1987, pp. 3-4)

v 90% of all family violence defendants are never prosecuted, and one-third of the cases that would be considered felonies if committed by strangers are filed as misdemeanors (a lesser crime). (News from U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, September 2, 1993)

v Sixty-three percent of all males between 11 and 20 doing time for homicide in America, killed their mother's batterer. (Partner Abuse in Illinois: Knowing the Facts and Breaking the Cycle IDPH, Report to the General Assembly1996)

v In a New York study of 50 battered women, 75% said they had been harassed by the batterer while they were at work, 50% reported missing an average of three days per month, and 44% lost at least one job for reasons directly related to the abuse. (Friedman, Lucy, and Cooper, Sarah, The Cost of Domestic Violence, New York, Victim Services Research Department, 1987.)

v In a national survey of over 6,000 American families, 50% of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children. (Straus, M.A. & Gelles, R.J. (eds.). Physical violence in American families. New Brunswick, NJ, Transaction Publishers. 1990.)

v 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. (Straus, M.A., Gelles, R.J. & Steinmetz, S. Behind closed Doors. Doubleday, Anchor. 1980.)

v 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. (Miller, G. "Violence By and Against America's Children," Journal of Juvenile Justice Digest, XVII(12) p.6. 1989.)

v The March of Dimes reports that pregnant women are at particular risk of being battered by spouses. More babies are now being born with birth defects as a result of the mother being battered during pregnancy than from the combination of all the diseases for which we immunize pregnant women. (“Women and Violence,”Hearings before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, August 29 and December 11, 1990, Senate Hearing 101-939, pt. 2, p. 79)

v Almost 25% of pregnant women seeking prenatal care have been battered during pregnancy (S. Weitzman, 2001)

v It is estimated that every 9 seconds, a woman is battered. (The Department of Justice, 1991)

v Wife-beating results in more injuries that require medical treatment than rape, auto accidents, and muggings combined.(“Violence Among Intimates”, E. Stark and A. Filtcraft, 1987)

v Battering accounts for 25% of female suicide attempts per year. (Howard, Holz and Kathleen Furniss, “The Health Care Providers Role in Domestic Violence,” Trends in Health Care, Law & Ethics, Vol. 8, No. 2, Spring 1993, p. 47)

v In the United States, a woman is more likely to be assaulted, injured, raped, or killed by a male partner than any other assailant. (“Resource Availability for Women at Risk”
A. Browne and K.R. Williams.)