Statistics of Domestic Violence Victims

• In our country, battering is the single major injury to women exceeding muggings, rapes, and auto accidents combined.

• The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 95% of assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men against women (Assessing Violent Couples, H. Douglas, Families in Society, 11/91)

• 20% of female trauma cases are victims of intentional injury by an acquaintance or husband.

• Pregnancy is a risk factor for abuse.

• When abuse occurs during pregnancy it can cause miscarriage, premature births, birth defects and learning disabilities.

• $3-5 billion dollars is spent annually to treat victims of domestic violence.

• 1.8 million women are battered each year.

• Every nine seconds a woman is battered.

• Within the last year, 7% of American women (3.9 million) who are married or living with someone as a couple were physically abused, and 37% (20.7 million) were verbally or emotionally abused by their spouse or partner (The Commonwealth Fund, N.Y. 1991).

• 42% of murdered women are killed by their intimate partners (FBI's 88-91 Uniform Crime Reports).