Mad at Miles: A play by: Pearl Cleage

National Abuse Statistics

DID YOU KNOW?
An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.² 85% of domestic violence victims are women.³ Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew.⁴ Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.⁵ Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.⁶
CHILDREN WHO WITNESS	HOMICIDE AND INJURY
Witnessing violence between one’s parents or caretakers is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.⁷ Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.⁸ 30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household.⁹	Almost one-third of female homicide victims that are reported in police records are killed by an intimate partner.¹⁴ In 70-80% of intimate partner homicides, no matter which partner was killed, the man physically abused the woman before the murder.¹² Less than one-fifth of victims reporting an injury from intimate partner violence sought medical treatment following the injury.¹⁵ Intimate partner violence results in more than 18.5 million mental health care visits each year.¹⁶
SEXUAL ASSAULT AND STALKING	ECONOMIC IMPACT
One in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape.¹⁰ Nearly 7.8 million women have been raped by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.¹¹ Sexual assault or forced sex occurs in approximately 40-45% of battering relationships.¹² 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men have been stalked in their lifetime.¹³ 81% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner; 31% are also sexually assaulted by that partner.¹³	The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health services.¹⁷ Victims of intimate partner violence lost almost 8 million days of paid work because of the violence perpetrated against them by current or former husbands, boyfriends and dates. This loss is the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs and almost 5.6 million days of household productivity as a result of violence.¹⁷ There are 16,800 homicides and $2.2 million (medically treated) injuries due to intimate partner violence annually, which costs $37 billion.¹⁸
REPORTING RATES	PROTECTION ORDERS
Domestic violence is one of the most chronically underreported crimes.²⁰ Only approximately one-quarter of all physical assaults, one-fifth of all rapes, and one-half of all stalkings perpetuated against females by intimate partners are reported to the police.¹	Approximately 20% of the 1.5 million people who experience intimate partner violence annually obtain civil protection orders.¹ Approximately one-half of the orders obtained by women against intimate partners who physically assaulted them were violated.1 More than two-thirds of the restraining orders against intimate partners who raped or stalked the victim were violated.
SOURCES
¹ Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. National Institute of Justice and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, “Extent, Nature and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey,” (2000). ² Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA. ³ Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003. ⁴ U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Criminal Victimization, 2005,” September 2006. ⁵ U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Intimate Partner Violence in the United States,” December 2006. ⁶ Frieze, I.H., Browne, A. (1989) Violence in Marriage. In L.E. Ohlin & M. H. Tonry (eds.) Family Violence. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. ⁷ Break the Cycle. (2006). Startling Statistics. http://www.breakthecycle.org/html%20files/I_4a_startstatis.htm. ⁸ Strauss, Gelles, and Smith, “Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence” in 8,145 Families. Transaction Publishers (1990). ⁹ Edelson, J.L. (1999). “The Overlap Between Child Maltreatment and Woman Battering.” Violence Against Women. 5:134-154. ¹⁰ U.S. Department of Justice, “Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women,” November 1998. ¹¹ Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA. ¹² Campbell, et al. (2003). “Assessing Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Homicide.” Intimate Partner Homicide, NIJ Journal, 250, 14-19. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. ¹³ Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. (1998). “Stalking in America.” National Institute for Justice. ¹⁴ Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports “Crime in the United States, 2000,” (2001). ¹⁵U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Intimate Partner Violence in the United States,” December 2006. ¹⁶ Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA. Tjaden, Patricia & Thoennes, Nancy. ¹⁷ Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA. ¹⁸ The Cost of Violence in the United States. 2007. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA. ¹⁹ U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Family Violence Statistics,” June 2005. ²⁰ U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Criminal Victimization,” 2003.