Domestic violence knows many faces. Male or females, rich or poor, black or white – domestic violence can truly happen to anyone. There is no excuse for domestic abuse and yet it continues to happen every day. Hopefully these statistics will stop anyone involved in a domestically abusive relationship from excusing, overlooking, or denying the abuse. It could save your life or the life of someone else.
Domestic Violence Facts & Statistics
1. One in four women will experience domestic abuse during their lifetime. The facts and statistics on domestic violence are startling but true. You are not alone. Women ages 20-24 are at the greatest risk for becoming victims of domestic violence.
2. On average, a woman will leave and return to an abusive relationship seven times before she leaves for good. This does not mean a woman will be abused seven times before she leaves. Statistics show that women in abusive relationships tend to leave and come back seven times before they’re gone for good.
3. Most domestic violence incidents are never reported. While all of these statistics help in learning and recognizing domestic abuse, most domestic abuse occurs every day, unreported.
4. Facts and statics show that men who witnessed their parents’ domestic violence as children were twice as likely to abuse their own wives than sons of nonviolent parents. There is no excuse for domestic violence. However, violence is a cycle that will continue if nothing is done about it.
5. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. Of all the possible threats to a womanly health such as, muggings, robberies, and accidents, the number one cause for injuries to women is abuse.
6. Based on reports from 10 countries, between 55 percent and 95 percent of women who had been physically abused by their partners had never contacted non-governmental organizations, shelters, or the police for help. Again, domestic violence is usually never reported, and the percentage of women not reporting these crimes is on the rise.
7. Access to firearms yields a more than five-fold increase in risk of intimate partner homicide, suggesting that abusers who possess guns tend to inflict the most severe abuse on their partners. If you partner or love one owns a firearm, these are signs to be cautious about.
8. 30 to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household. Women are not the only ones hurt by domestic abuse. Children can be psychologically or physically abused themselves.
9. 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. What people experience in their childhood carries on to adulthood, the good and bad.
10. More than 60% of domestic violence incident happen at home. It can occur in a car, at work, or anywhere in public from a loved one. Still, the home is usually where domestic crimes take place.
These facts and statistics on domestic violence stand true and continue to happen everyday. Knowing these statistics, you can see ignoring the problem with only make it worse. No one should ever have to live in fear.
BONUS TIP: In some states, like Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., your children can be deposed for a divorce case! If your child is being deposed, make sure you have a Washington, D.C. court reporting company you can trust with your depositions.