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.