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Wednesday, 31 May 2000: Five years after the Beijing World Conference on Women called for global action to end violence against women, a UNICEF study states that not enough progress has been made in addressing the most common form of such violence, domestic violence. Domestic violence continues to negate the rights of women and girls in all countries and it undermines the lives of one out of every two women in some nations.

The report states that such violence continues to cut across cultures, class, education, incomes, ethnicity and age in every country. An estimated 60 million women are missing from population statistics globally; they are victims of their own families, killed deliberately or through neglect, simply because they are female.

  • Up to 50% of all homeless women and children in the United States are fleeing domestic violence.
  • Yet, there are nearly 3 times as many animal shelters in the United States as there are shelters for battered women.

    • INTIMATE AND SPOUSAL ABUSE

    • Nearly one in every three adult women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood.
    • Approximately four million American women experience a serious assault by an intimate partner during a 12-month period.
    • Six times as many women who experience violence by an intimate partner (18 percent) as by a stranger (three percent) do not report the crime.
    • Several types of violence and abuse usually occur within the family; men who batter their intimate partners are more likely to abuse their children too.

      Risk Factors

      • Perpetrators of violence usually have problems with power and control and a history of physical or sexual abuse, or threats of abuse.
      • Battered women and their abusers come from all demographic groups; there is no single psychological profile of either; and the only risk factor they both share is exposure to violence between parents.
      • Both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence have a tendency to abuse alcohol. Excessive alcohol use is more than 50 percent for male batterers and around 20 percent for women victims.
      • The highest risk for serious injury or death from violence in an intimate relationship is at the point of separation or at the time when the decision to separate is made.

    CHILD ABUSE

    • Men are the leading perpetrators of the physical and sexual abuse of children. When neglect is included, then the proportion of male and female abusers are the same.
    • Abuse accounts for about 10 percent of the injuries to children under the age of seven who are examined in emergency rooms.
    • Approximately 1,300 children died as a result of child abuse and neglect in 1993; an estimated 2.9 million cases of suspected child abuse and neglect were reported to authorities and an estimated one million of these cases were confirmed by child protective services.
    • Fifty-seven percent of children under 12 who are murdered are killed by a parent; each year, an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence by family members against their mothers or female caretakers; and 16-34 percent of girls and 10-20 percent of boys are sexually abused, mostly by a family member or trusted family friend.

      Risk Factors

      • The best predictor of future violence is previous violence-children who experience multiple acts of violence or more than one kind of violence are at a greater risk of continuing the 'cycle of violence.'
      • Unwanted children and children with physical or mental disabilities are at risk for abuse.
      • Parents or caretakers who experience a combination of stress, like having more than four children, living in poverty (annual income $15,000 and under), abusing drugs, being a young mother or being isolated from others outside the family are at much greater risk to maltreat their children.

    ELDER ABUSE

    Few studies have looked at elder abuse and this type of abuse is rarely reported. But, a 1994 study of case reports to protective agencies by the National Center on Elder Abuse did find that: Neglect is the most common form of elder maltreatment in domestic settings and adult children are the most frequent abusers of the elderly. Reports of elder abuse have more than doubled (from 117,000 to 241,000) in the last ten years.

    • Nearly a third of the murders of persons aged 60 or older are committed by a family member
    • Most of the abuse against the elderly is committed by someone they live with and state reporting systems show that adult children are the most frequent abusers of the elderly.

    Because most caregivers for the elderly are women, most of the neglect cases are committed by female family members; however, the male family members are the most frequent perpetrators of physical abuse against the elderly.

    Risk Factors

    • Abusers usually have a history of personal problems or pathology and/or may be financially or emotionally dependent on the older person.
    • Men who abuse their elderly partners may be continuing a pattern of abuse that has been going on throughout the lifecycle; or they may start abuse because of an emotional disorder or organic brain deterioration

    Everyday 14 people are murdered, 48 women raped and 578 people are robbed by persons who have been caught, convicted, and subsequently released on probation or parole. 30% of all murders are committed by persons on probation or parole. Of the 3.7 million convicted felons in the U.S. 3.2 million are on probation or parole.

    • Nearly one-fourth of all relationships include violence.
    • Wife-beating is the most common but least reported crime in the U.S.
    • Over 40% of the women murdered are killed by their husbands or partners, usually after having been abused by them for years.
    • Up to one-half of all wives are beaten at least once by their husbands.
    • Domestic violence happens to people of all races, income, and education levels.
    • Violence in the home usually becomes more frequent and severe over time.
    • Victims of domestic violence may be silent because of embarrassment or shame.

    During each year 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.

    The victims' friends or acquaintances committed more than half of the rapes and sexual assaults, intimates committed 26 percent, and strangers were responsible for about one in five.

    Forty-five percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by multiple offenders also involved offenders they knew.

    Women from 19 to 29 years old were more likely than women of other ages to be victimized by an intimate. Also, the rate of intimate-offender attacks on women separated from their husbands was about three times higher than that of divorced women and about 25 times higher than that of married women. However, because the survey records a respondent's marital status only at the time of the interview, it is possible in some instances that separation or divorce followed the violence.

    Women of all races, as well as Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, were about equally vulnerable to attacks by intimates. However, women in families with incomes below $10,000 per year were more likely than other women to be violently attacked by an intimate.

    DATING VIOLENCE

    One in five adolescent girls will be physically and/or sexually abused in a dating relationship.
    - Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Abuse, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy and Suicide; Journal of the American Medical Association, August 2001

    Physical and sexual abuse against adolescent girls in dating relationships increases the likelihood that the girl will abuse drugs and/or alcohol, develop an eating disorder, consider and/or attempt suicide, engage in risky sexual behavior and/or become pregnant.
    - Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Abuse, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy and Suicide; Journal of the American Medical Association, August 2001

    INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

    Women age 16 to 24 are most vulnerable to intimate partner violence, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Justicešs Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-99 provides statistical information on the prevalence of domestic violence and the characteristics of victims of abuse. The report examines victims' age and gender, finding that women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence than men, and women in their late teens and early twenties are more likely to experience abuse than women of other ages

    Intimate partner violence is widespread, and women are the victims of abuse more often than men are. In 1999, 671,110 women were the victims of domestic violence, according to Intimate Partner Violence.

    This is equivalent to approximately 1,839 women suffering abuse by an intimate partner each day in America.

    Eight-five percent of all victims of intimate partner violence were women, while 15 percent (120,100) were men. Intimate partner violence against women most often took the form of simple assault (66 percent), rape or sexual assault (14 percent), or aggravated assault (10 percent).

    Intimate Partner Violence and Age

    The rates of intimate partner violence differ greatly depending on the age of the victim, according to the report. Women between the ages of 16 and 24 are nearly three times more vulnerable to intimate partner violence (excluding intimate partner homicide) than women in other age groups. In 1999, the overall rate of intimate partner violence against women was 5.8 victimizations per 1,000 women, but the rate was 15.6 per 1,000 women for those aged 16 to 24.

    The higher rate of intimate partner violence exists regardless of young womenšs marital status, notes Intimate Partner Violence. Women between the ages of 20 and 24 were victimized at a higher rate than older women, regardless of marital status. In general, the report adds, women who are separated experienced intimate partner violence at rates significantly higher than women in any other marital category. Separated women age 20 to 34 had the highest average rates of intimate partner violence of women in any age group.

    The pattern of younger women being most vulnerable to victimization was consistent across racial lines as well, Intimate Partner Violence finds. The rate of intimate partner violence peaked for both white and African American women between the ages of 20 and 24. The rate of intimate partner violence for Hispanic women peaked between the ages of 16 and 34.

    Intimate Partner Homicide

    Male murder victims were substantially less likely than female victims to have been killed by an intimate partner, finds the report. Intimate partner homicide accounted for 32 percent of the murders of women in 1999 and approximately four percent of the murders of men. In 1999, 1,642 people were killed by intimates and three in four victims were women. Of the victims, 74 percent (1,218) were female and 26 percent (424) were male.

    While women in their teens and early twenties have the highest rate of intimate partner violence, women between the ages of 35 and 49 are the most vulnerable to intimate partner homicide, according to the report. Between 1993 and 1999, intimate partner homicides made up 32 percent of the homicides of women between the ages of 20 and 24, compared with nearly 40 percent of the homicides of women between the ages of 35 and 49. In 1999, women in this age group were murdered by an intimate partner at rates greater than women in any other age group.

    But the report notes that woman between the ages of 20 and 34 also had high rates of intimate partner homicide. Young women (age 12 to 15) and women over age 50 experienced the lowest homicide rates among females. However, in every age category, women are more likely than men to be murdered by an intimate partner.
    - All of the above information can be found in the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim,1993-99.Visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/ to view the publication or call 800/732-3277 for copies of the report.

    About one in three murders of women were committed by a current or former spouse or boyfriend. About half of all the intimate-partner homicide victims were killed by their legal spouses, and 33 percent were killed by their boyfriends or girlfriends. Guns tended to be the weapon of choice.
    - October 11, 2001 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a Center for Disease Control and Prevention publication.

    There were 22 states that had female homicide rates above the national average of 1.35 per 100,000. The 15 states with the highest rates were: Nevada, Alaska, Louisiana, Arizona, South Carolina, Vermont, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, North Carolina, Maine, West Virginia, Arkansas, Virginia and Texas.
    - When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 1999 Homicide Data, Violence Policy Center, Washington, DC

    RACE

    Race is not indicative of who is at risk of domestic violence.

    Domestic violence is statistically consistent across racial and ethnic boundaries.
    - Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey (NCJ-154348), August 1995, p. 3.

    SAME-SEX BATTERING

    Domestic violence occurs within same-sex relationships with the same statistical frequency as in heterosexual relationships.

    The prevalence of domestic violence among Gay and Lesbian couples is approximately 25 - 33%.
    - Barnes, It's Just a Quarrel', American Bar Association Journal, February 1998, p. 25.

    Battering among Lesbians crosses age, race, class, lifestyle and socio-economic lines.
    - Lobel, ed., Naming the Violence: Speaking Out About Lesbian Battering, 183 (1986).

    Each year, between 50,000 and 100,000 Lesbian women and as many as 500,000 Gay men are battered.
    - Murphy, Queer Justice: Equal Protection for Victims of Same-Sex Domestic Violence, 30 Val. U. L. Rev. 335 (1995).

    While same-sex battering mirrors heterosexual battering both in type and prevalence, its victims receive fewer protections.
    - Barnes, It's Just a Quarrel', American Bar Association Journal, February 1998, p. 24.

    Seven states define domestic violence in a way that excludes same-sex victims; 21 states have sodomy laws that may require same-sex victims to confess to a crime in order to prove they are in a domestic relationship.
    - Barnes, It's Just a Quarrel', American Bar Association Journal, February 1998, p. 24.

    Many battered Gays or Lesbians fight back to defend themselves - it is a myth that same-sex battering is mutual.
    - Murphy, Queer Justice: Equal Protection for Victims of Same-Sex Domestic Violence, 30 Val. U. L. Rev. 335 (1995).

    Same-sex batterers use forms of abuse similar to those of heterosexual batterers. They have an additional weapon in the threat of "outing" their partner to family, friends, employers or community.
    - Lundy, Abuse That Dare Not Speak Its Name: Assisting Victims of Lesbian and Gay Domestic Violence in Massachusetts, 28 New Eng. L. Rev. 273 (Winter 1993).

    BATTERED IMMIGRANT WOMEN

    Battered immigrant women face unique legal, social and economic problems.

    Domestic violence is thought to be more prevalent among immigrant women than among U.S. citizens.
    - Anderson, A License to Abuse: The Impact of Conditional Status on Female Immigrants, 102 Yale L. J. 1401 (April 1993).

    Immigrant women may suffer higher rates of battering than U.S. citizens because they come from cultures which accept domestic violence, or because they have less access to legal and social services than U.S. citizens. in addition, immigrant batterers and victims may believe that the penalties and protections of the U.S. legal system do not apply to them.
    - Orloff et al., With No Place to Turn: Improving Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women, Family Law Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, 313 (Summer 1995).

    A battered woman who is not a legal resident, or whose immigration status depends on her partner, is isolated by cultural dynamics which may prevent her from leaving her husband or seeking assistance from the legal system. these factors contribute to the higher incidence of abuse among immigrant women.
    - Orloff et al., With No Place to Turn: Improving Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women, Family Law Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, 313 (Summer 1995).

    Some obstacles faced by battered immigrant women include: a distrust of the legal system arising from their experiences with the system in their native countries; cultural and language barriers; and fear of deportation.
    - Orloff et al., With No Place to Turn: Improving Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women, Family Law Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, 313 (Summer 1995).

    A battered immigrant woman may not understand that she can personally tell her story in court, or that a judge will believe her. based on her experience in her native country, she may believe that only those who are wealthy or have ties to the government will prevail in court. batterers often manipulate these beliefs by convincing the victim he will prevail in court because he is a male, a citizen or that he has more money.
    - Orloff et al., With No Place to Turn: Improving Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women, Family Law Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, 313 (Summer 1995).

    Although a victim may be in the country legally by virtue of her marriage to the batterer, their status may be conditional; in this situation it is common for a batterer to exert his control over his wife's immigration status in order to force her to remain in the relationship.
    - Jang, Caught in a Web: Immigrant Women and Domestic Violence, National Clearinghouse (Special Issue 1994), p. 400.

    Undocumented women may be reported to Immigration and Naturalization Services by law enforcement or social services personnel from whom they may seek assistance.
    - Jang, Caught in a Web: Immigrant Women and Domestic Violence, National Clearinghouse (Special Issue 1994), p. 397-399.

    A battered immigrant woman is often trapped in an abusive relationship by economics. she may have legal or practical impediments to obtaining employment or public assistance.
    - Jang, Caught in a Web: Immigrant Women and Domestic Violence, National Clearinghouse (Special Issue 1994), p. 403.

    Battered immigrant women who attempt to flee may have no access to bilingual shelters, financial assistance or food. it is unlikely that she will have the assistance of a certified interpreter in court, when reporting complaints to police or a 911 operator, or even in acquiring information about her rights and the legal system.
    - Orloff et al., With No Place to Turn: Improving Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women, Family Law Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, 313 (Summer 1995).

    WELFARE RECIPIENTS

    Domestic violence may affect a woman's ability to financially support herself and her children.

    Past and current victims of domestic violence are over-represented in the welfare population. the majority of welfare recipients have experienced domestic abuse in their adult lives, and a high percentage are currently abused.
    - Raphael & Tolman, Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare , p. 20 (1997).

    Abused (past or current) welfare recipients experience higher levels of health or mental health problems such as a physical disability, or serious or acute depression.
    - Raphael & Tolman, Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare, p. 21 (1997).

    15 - 50% of abused women report interference from their partner with education, training or work.
    - Raphael & Tolman, Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare, p. 22 (1997).

    Welfare studies show that abused women do seek employment, but are unable to maintain it. it is possible that domestic violence presents a barrier to sustained labor market participation.
    - Raphael & Tolman, Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare, p. 22 (1997).

    Examples of abusers' sabotage of their victims' attempts to work include: calling her employer and ordering the victim to quit; making allegations requiring the victim to appear before the police, court or social services; threatening to kill the victim; committing suicide in front of the victim; sabotaging the victim's car; beating her up on the way to an interview; stealing her work uniforms; starting fights each day before school or work; breaking the victim's writing arm repeatedly; manipulating her schedule by demanding visitation with the children; stalking; starting fights or threatening abuse which affects her ability to concentrate at work; or encouraging continued drug addition.
    - Raphael & Tolman, Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare, pp. 10-14 (1997).

    Between one- and two-thirds of welfare recipients reported having suffered domestic violence at some point in their adult lives; between 15 - 32% reported current domestic victimization.
    - Raphael & Tolman, Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare, p. 21 (1997).

    RECIDIVISM

    Battering tends to be a pattern of violence rather than a one-time occurrence.

    During the six months following an episode of domestic violence, 32% of battered women are victimized again.
    - Bureau of Justice Statistics: Preventing Domestic Violence Against Women, 1986.

    47% of men who beat their wives do so at least 3 times per year.
    - AMA Diagnostic & Treatment Guidelines on Domestic Violence, SEC: 94-677:3M:9/94 (1994).

    Short term (6-12 week) psycho-educational batterer-intervention programs helped some batterers stop immediate physical violence but were inadequate in stopping abuse over time. some batterers became more sophisticated in their psychological abuse and intimidation after attending such programs.
    - American Psychology. Association, Violence and the Family: Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family (1996), p. 85.

    Six months after obtaining a protection order: 8% of victims reported post-order physical abuse; 26% reported respondent came to or called their home or workplace; 65% reported no further problems.
    - CPOs: the Benefits and Limitations for Victims of Domestic Violence, National Center for State Courts Research Report, 1997.

     

    Impact of Domestic Violence on Children

    "Children worry that their mothers will get seriously hurt or their fathers will go to jail. These thoughts weigh most heavily on a child's mind during school hours, when the child is not home. This constant anxiety does not allow them to pay attention to their studies. Children who live with domestic violence may also have a difficult time relating to their peers. In some cases where the battered mother is isolated, socializing has not been modeled at home. It is not uncommon for children to feel guilty for having fun. Many children do not want to leave their battered mother alone. If intervention does not occur, these children's feelings of anxiety, accountability, guilt, grief and embarrassment will begin to take command of their lives."

    - From Understanding Children of Domestic Violence
    by Karen McGuckin


    Statistics

    When children are killed during a domestic dispute, 90% are under the age of 10; 56% are under age of two.

    (Florida Governor's Task Force on Domestic and Sexual Violence,
    Florida Mortality Review Project, 1997, p.51, table 28.)

    Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence by family members against their mothers or female caretakers.

    (American Psychological Association, Violence and the Family:
    Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential
    Task Force on Violence and the Family (1996), p. 11.)

    In homes where partner abuse occurs, children are 1,500 times more likely to be abused.

    (Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Family Violence: Interventions for the Justice System, 1993)

    Many parents minimize or deny the presence of children while the mothers are being assaulted. However, interviews with children of battered women reveal that they have seen, heard and can describe detailed accounts of violent behavior that their mothers or fathers never realized they had witnessed.

    (Jaffe, Wolfe & Wilson, Children of Battered Women, 1990)

    In a national survey of more than 2,000 American families, approximately 50 percent of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children.

    (Murray A. Straus and Richard J. Gelles, Physical
    Violence in American Families, 1990)

    Children's lives are frequently disrupted by moves to escape domestic violence. They lose considerable school time; flee home without books, money or changes of clothing; and live in the family car when shelters are unavailable.

    (Maria Roy, Children in the Crossfire, 1988)

    Of children who witness their mothers being abused by their fathers, 40 percent suffer anxiety, 48 percent suffer depression, 53 percent act out with their parents and 60 percent act out with siblings.

    (Pflout, Schopler & Henley, Forgotten Victims of
    Family Violence, Social Work, July 1982)

    What A Battered Woman Faces When She Leaves

    Many people assume that once a battered woman takes the first step outside of her home or relationship the hardship and abuse will end. Battered women face many difficulties when they leave, including fear of injury or death, economic hardship, fear of losing their children and poor criminal justice response.

    Fear of Injury or Death

    The highest risk for serious injury or death to a battered woman is when she is leaving or when she has left her violent partner. (Barbara Hart, 1988)

    Seventy-eight percent of stalking victims are women. Sixty percent of female stalking victims are stalked by intimate partners. (Center for Policy Research, Stalking in America, July 1997)

    Economic Hardship

    Seventy-four percent of employed battered women experience harassment at work by their abusive partner, either in person or on the telephone. This harassment often results in their being late to work, missing work altogether and possibly losing their jobs. (Zorza, "Woman Battering: A Major Cause of Homelessness," Clearinghouse Review, 1991)

    Up to 50 percent of all homeless women and children in this country are fleeing domestic violence. (Elizabeth Schneider, Legal Reform Efforts for Battered Women, 1990)

    Fear of Losing Children

    Of the domestic violence-related child abductions, most are perpetrated by fathers or others acting on the fathers' behalf. Battering men use custodial access to the children as a tool to terrorize battered women or to retaliate for separation. (David Finkelhor, Gerald Hotaling & Andrea Sedlak, Protective Services Quarterly, 1993)

    Slightly more than half of female victims of intimate violence live in households with children under age 12. (U. S. Department of Justice, Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends and Girlfriends, March 1998)

    Poor Criminal Justice Response

    Injuries that battered women received are at least as serious as injuries suffered in 90 percent of violent felony crimes, yet under state laws, they are almost always classified as misdemeanors. (Joan Zorza, The Gender Bias Committee's Domestic Violence Study, 33 Boston Bar J.4, 13, July/August 1989)