Domestic Violence Just Isn’t Sexy
Recent media coverage of high profile domestic violence cases has directed the public eye to what is not just a sensational problem or a news headline, but a deeply dangerous, prevalent, and often fatal social epidemic.
The statistics on domestic violence across gender, age, ethnic/racial, socioeconomic, educational, and sexual orientation groups are staggering.
Domestic Violence and Gender:
1) Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner every year.
2) Every 12 seconds, a woman is abused in the United States.
3) More than 3 women and 1 man are murdered by their intimate partners in this country every day.
Rape and Sexual Assault:
4) Around 1 in 5 female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.
5) Date rape accounts for almost 70% of sexual assaults reported by adolescent and college age women.
6) 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
7) Every 2 minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted.
Domestic Violence and Children:
8) 43% of households with female victim and 25% of those with a male victim also involve children under age 12.
9) Between 3.3 and 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.
10) Every ten seconds, a child is abused, molested or killed. Today, five of those children will die.
Stop the cycle.
Domestic violence affects people regardless of race, income, gender, age, or location. On average, only 70% of nonfatal intimate partner violence is reported to law enforcement.
If you have been the victim of domestic violence, it is NEVER too late to report it. Call 911, your local police department, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
IMPORTANT NUMBERS:
The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 (800) 799-SAFE (7233) or TTY: 1 (800) 787-3224
National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1 (800) 656-HOPE (4673)
National Child Abuse Hotline: 1 (800) 4ACHILD (422-4453)
