11 Facts about Domestic/Dating Violence (via http://www.dosomething.org/)
- Domestic/dating violence (also known as intimate partner violence) is a pattern of controlling behaviors that one partner uses to get power over the other. It includes:
-any kind of physical violence or threat of physical violence to get control
-emotional or mental abuse, such as playing mind games, making you feel crazy, or constantly putting you down or criticizing you
-Sexual abuse, including making you do anything you don’t want to do, refusing to have safe sex or making you feel badly about yourself sexually - About 95% of all domestic violence victims are female. And the majority of male victims are assaulted by other men.
- One third of American women and one quarter of women worldwide will experience domestic/dating violence in their lifetime.
- An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Some studies say the numbers are even greater – up to 5.3 million – since most assaults go unreported.
- Only 25% of all physical assaults perpetuated by intimate partners are reported to the police.
- Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk for intimate partner violence.
- On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. That’s more than 1100 women a year.
- Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women – more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
- One half of all homeless women in the country are fleeing from domestic violence.
- Women are more likely to be attacked by someone they know rather than by a stranger.
- Domestic/Dating violence costs the US $5.8 billion annually in health related costs, with $4.1 bil for victims needing medical and mental health services
