STATISTICS.
Below is a list of statistics and what to look for in determining if you’re a victim of domestic abuse.
HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC ABUSE?
- While this list isn’t exhaustive, you may be the victim of domestic violence if someone:
- -Hurts or controls you physically, sexually, psychologically, or financially
- -Makes you feel trapped in your home or relationship
- -Has made you fear for your life, or the lives of your children and pets
- -Prohibits you from contacting or seeing your family and friends
- -Prevents you from controlling your money and bank accounts, or you’ve been forced to take out loans and credit cards in your name
- -Embarrasses, shames, and blames you for causing the behavior that hurts you
- -If you have experienced domestic violence, you may:
- -Feel a range of emotions including, but not limited to confusion, fear, anxiety, and depression
- -Still love or feel conflicted about the person who is hurting you
- -Withdraw or be isolated from family and friends
- -Feel like you cannot get away from the person hurting you
- -Cope by using alcohol or drugs
- -Have fears around child custody or worry about leaving pets behind
- -Believe the person hurting you may change or stop the harmful behavior
- -Worry about retaliation from the person who is hurting you
WHAT DO I DO?
- Call 911 for Immediate Assistance– You know yourself and your situation better than anyone. Trust your instincts and call for help if you feel you are in danger. If you call, you can ask the responding officer for an emergency protective order.
- Obtain a Protective Order—Learn more filing a protection order at Find Law or by contacting your local courthouse or advocacy agency.
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- Contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline—Reach NDVH at 1-800-799-7233 or online chat 24/7 for confidential help finding resources or to talk with someone about your relationship.
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- Know Your Rights – Learn more about your rights as a domestic violence victim at Women’s Law
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- Consider Counseling— Counseling can help you process the emotional impact of domestic violence.  Find a local therapist at the Psychology Today search page or connect with a support group through a local domestic violence advocacy agency.
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- Develop a Safety Plan – A personalized safety plan can help you identify ways to stay safe while in a relationship, while you are planning to leave, or after you leave. There are many resources online, like this one from NDVH, that can help. Consider also meeting with a local advocate for safety planning assistance.
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- Connect with an Advocate— Advocates can often help you safety plan, connect you with shelter or other supportive resources, and walk you through the process of getting a protection order.  Your local law enforcement division or the district attorney may also have advocacy services. Find an advocate near you by visiting the Domestic Shelters search page.
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- Remember to Care for Yourself – Try to be kind to yourself and allow yourself time and patience as you move forward; everyone responds differently to crime. Practice self-care and coping skillsstrategies.
Get the Facts & FiguresThe statistics on this page have been compiled from various sources.
GENERALOn average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year.[i]
Nearly 3 in 10 women (29%) and 1 in 10 men (10%) in the US have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by a partner and report a related impact on their< functioning.[ii]
Nearly, 15% of women (14.8%) and 4% of men have been injured as a result of IPV that included rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.[iii]
1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) aged 18 and older in the United States have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.[iv]
IPV alone affects more than 12 million people each year.[v]
More than 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the United States have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.[vi]
Nearly half of all women and men in the United States have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime (48.4% and 48.8%, respectively).[vii]
Females ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 generally experienced the highest rates of intimate partner violence.[viii]
From 1994 to 2010, about 4 in 5 victims of intimate partner violence were female.[ix]
Most female victims of intimate partner violence were previously victimized by the same offender, including 77% of females ages 18 to 24, 76% of females ages 25 to 34, and 81% of females ages 35 to 49.[
SEXUAL VIOLENCENearly 1 in 5 women (18.3%) and 1 in 71 men (1.4%) have been raped in their lifetime (by any perpetrator).[i]
Nearly 1 in 10 women in the United States (9.4%) have been raped by an intimate partner in her lifetime.[ii]
81% of women who experienced rape, stalking, or physical violence by an intimate partner reported significant short- or long-term impacts such as post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and injury.[iii]
35% of men report such impacts of their experiences.[iv]
More than half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance.[v]
For male victims, more than half (52.4%) reported being raped by an acquaintance, and 15.1% by a stranger.[vi]
An estimated 13% of women and 6% of men have experienced sexual coercion in their lifetime (i.e. unwanted sexual penetration after being pressured in a nonphysical way). 27.2% of women and 11.7% of men have experienced unwanted sexual contact (by any perpetrator).[vii]
STALKINGOne in 6 women (16.2%) and 1 in 19 men (5.2%) in the United States have experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed (by any perpetrator).[i]
Two-thirds (66.2%) of female victims of stalking were stalked by a current or former intimate partner.[ii]
Men were primarily stalked by an intimate partner or acquaintance (41.4% and 40%, respectively).[iii]
Repeatedly receiving unwanted telephone calls, voice, or text messages was the most commonly experienced stalking tactic for both female and male victims of stalking (78.8% for women and 75.9% for men).[iv]
An estimated 10.7% of women and 2.1% of men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime.[v]
CHILDRENA child witnessed violence in 22% (nearly 1 in 4) of intimate partner violence cases filed in state courts. [i]
30 to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household. [ii]
There is a common link between domestic violence and child abuse. Among victims of child abuse, 40% report domestic violence in the home (from a WORLD REPORT).[iii]
One study in North America found that children who were exposed to violence in the home were 15 times more likely to be physically and/or sexually assaulted than the national average.[iv]
The U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect suggests that domestic violence may be the single major precursor to child abuse and neglect fatalities in this country.[v]
[i] http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/2009/BJS10007.htm
[ii] https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/213503.pdf
[iii-v] http://www.unicef.org/protection/files/BehindClosedDoors.pdf
TEENSIn a nationwide survey, 9.4% of high school students report being hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by their boyfriend or girlfriend in the 12 months prior to the survey.[i]
About 1 in 5 women and nearly 1 in 7 men who ever experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner, first experienced some form of partner violence between 11 and 17 years of age.[ii]
More than a quarter of male victims of completed rape (28%) were first raped when they were 10 years old or younger (by any perpetrator).[iii]
About 35% of women who were raped as minors also were raped as adults compared to 14% of women without an early rape history.[iv]
Most female victims of completed rape (79.6%) experienced their first rape before the age of 25; 42.2% experienced their first completed rape before the age of 18 years.[v]
One in 10 high school students has experienced physical violence from a dating partner in the past year.[vi]
Most female and male victims of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner (69% of female victims, 53% of male victims) experienced some form of intimate partner violence for the first time before 25 years of age.[vii]
43% of dating college women report experiencing violent and abusive dating behaviors including physical, sexual, tech, verbal or controlling abuse.[viii]
Nearly 1 in 3 (29%) college women say they have been in an abusive dating relationship.[ix]
52% of college women report knowing a friend who has experienced violent and abusive dating behaviors including physical, sexual, tech, verbal or controlling abuse.[x]
More than half (57%) of college students who report experiencing dating violence and abuse said it occurred in college.[xi]
58% of college students say they don’t know what to do to help someone who is a victim of dating abuse.[xii]
38% of college students say they don’t know how to get help for themselves if they were a victim of dating abuse.[xiii]
More than half of all college students (57%) say it is difficult to identify dating abuse.[xiv]
1 in 3 (36%) dating college students has given a dating partner their computer, email, or social network passwords and these students are more likely to experience digital dating abuse.[xv]
1 in 5 college women has been verbally abused by a dating partner.[xvi]
1 in 6 (16%) college women has been sexually abused in a dating relationship.[xvii]
1 in 4 dating teens is abused or harassed online or through texts by their partners.[xviii]
Victims of digital abuse and harassment are 2 times as likely to be physically abused, 2.5 times as likely to be psychologically abused, and 5 times as likely to be sexually coerced.[xix]
Nearly 1 in 10 teens in relationships report to having a partner tamper with their social networking account (the most frequent form of harassment or abuse).[xx]
Only 1 in 5 victims say they experienced digital abuse or harassment at school and during school hours (most takes place away from school grounds).[xxi]
About 84% of victims are psychologically abused by their partners, half are physically abused, and one-third experiences sexual coercion.[xxii]
Only 4% experience digital abuse and harassment alone. So social media, texts, and e-mails don’t seem to invite new abuse, they just provide abusive partners with a new tool.[xxiii]
[i] http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/teen_dating_violence.html
[ii] [vi] http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/datingmatters_flyer_2012-a.pdf
[iii-vii] http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/cdc_nisvs_overview_insert_final-a.pdf
[viii-xvii] https://www.loveisrespect.org/pdf/College_Dating_And_Abuse_Final_Study.pdf
[xviii-xxiii] http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412750-teen-dating-abuse.pdf
IN THE WORKPLACENearly 33% of women killed in U.S. workplaces between 2003-2008 were killed by a current or former intimate partner.[i]
Nearly one in four large private industry establishments reported at least one incidence of domestic violence, including threats and assaults, in 2005.[ii]
A survey of American employees found that 44% of full-time employed adults personally experienced domestic violence’s effect in their workplaces, and 21% identified themselves as victims of intimate partner violence.[iii]
64% of the respondents in a 2005 survey who identified themselves as victims of domestic violence indicated that their ability to work was affected by the violence. More than half of domestic violence victims (57%) said they were distracted, almost half (45%) feared getting discovered, and two in five were afraid of their intimate partner’s unexpected visit (either by phone or in person).[iv]
Nearly two in three corporate executives (63%) say that domestic violence is a major problem in our society and more than half (55%) cite its harmful impact on productivity in their companies.[v]
Nine in ten employees (91%) say that domestic violence has a negative impact on their company’s bottom line. Just 43% of corporate executives agree. Seven in ten corporate executives (71%) do not perceive domestic violence as a major issue at their company.[vi]
More than 70% of United States workplaces do not have a formal program or policy that addresses workplace violence.[vii]
Nearly 8 million days of paid work each year is lost due to domestic violence issues – the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs.[viii]
96% of domestic violence victims who are employed experience problems at work due to abuse.[ix]
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[i] http://www.annalsofepidemiology.org/article/S1047-2797(12)00024-5/abstract
[ii] [vii] http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osnr0026.pdf
[iii-iv] http://www.caepv.org/getinfo/facts_stats.php?factsec=3
[v-vi] http://www.caepv.org/about/program_detail.php?refID=34
[viii] http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/ipv_cost/IPVBook-Final-Feb18.pdf
[ix] http://www.clicktoempower.org/domestic-violence-facts.aspx
“Nobody believes that domestic violence kills and nobody believes it is detrimental to children. This world has got to wake up. To me, if there is domestic violence, if the children see it or hear it, that to me is detrimental. Batterers should not have rights to children.”Â