DOMESTIC VIOLENCE STATISTICS
Domestic violence is believed to be the most common crime in America, yet the least reported. An estimated 3 to 4 million women in American are beaten each year by their partners or husbands. Wife-beating results in more injuries that require medical treatment than rape, auto accidents, and muggings combined. Each year, more than 1,000 women, or about 4 women per day, are killed by their husbands or partners. Domestic violence occurs among all sectors of society. It happens to people of all racial, economic, and religious groups. In about 95% of reported domestic assaults, the offender is the male partner. Only 5% of domestic assaults report the female partner as the offender. More than 80% of violent crimes that occur outside the home are committed by males. Abusers blame their victims for provoking the violence because of verbal abuse. A study of more than 6,000 battered women in Texas found that, on average, the women had contacted 5 different sources of help prior to leaving the home and becoming residents of a women's shelters. A battered woman frequently faces the most physical danger when she attempts to leave. More than 50% of the children whose mothers are battered also are victims of physical abuse. There is evidence that domestic violence may pass from generation to generation. Boys who witness their mother's abuse are more likely to batter their female partners as adults than boys raised in non-violent environments. Also, girls whose mothers were battered are more likely to be battered themselves. Nationwide, there were 1,858 females murdered by males in single victim/single offender incidents in 2005. Black women were murdered at a rate nearly 3 times higher than white women in 2005.
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