|
THE STATISTICS ARE ALARMING
- One in three women worldwide will be beaten, raped, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. (1)
- Each year, up to 10 million children experience domestic violence. Exposure to violence in the home is a significant predictor of a child's violent behavior. (2)
- Children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to exhibit behavioral and physical health problems including depression, anxiety and violence among peers. (3)
- One in four girls will be sexually assaulted before the age of 18. (4)
- Between 30 and 50% of dating relationships exhibit the same kinds of escalating violence as marital relationships. (5)
- About 4,000 rapes or sexual assaults occur in public schools each year. (6)
- One in 5 teenagers say they have experienced dating or sexual violence. (7)
- Recent studies indicate that female teenagers who experienced dating violence are significantly more likely to engage in substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors and suicide. (8)
- 37% of all women who sought care in emergency rooms were injured by a current or former husband or boyfriend. (9)
- Evidence shows that most female homicide deaths are the result of an assault by their intimate partner. (10)
- The annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence is estimated as $727.8 million with over 7.9 million paid workdays lost per year. (11)
- An estimated 1 million women are stalked each year in the US, with about 1/4 of them reporting missing an average of 11 days of work as a result of the stalking. (12)
- According to the U.S. government, nearly one million people are trafficked across international borders each year — bought, sold and forced into slave labor and sexual exploitation. 80% of trafficking victims are women and girls.
(1) Heise, L., Ellsberg, M. and Gottemoeller, M. Ending Violence Against Women. Population Reports, Series L, No. 11., December 1999.
(2) Singer, M.I., Miller, D.B., Guo, S., Slovak, K & Frieson, T. 1998. "The Mental Health Consequences of Children?s Exposure to Violence." Cleveland, OH: Cuyahoga County Community Health Research Institute, Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University).
(3) Jaffe, P. and Sudermann, M., "Child Witness of Women Abuse: Research and Community Responses," in Stith, S. and Straus, M., Understanding Partner Violence: Prevalence, Causes, Consequences, and Solutions. Families in Focus Services, Vol. II. Minneapolis, MN: National Council on Family Relations, 1995.
(4) Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence, fact sheet, www.cpsdv.org/Child-Abuse/index.htm
(5) Duke University Women's Center, Office of Sexual Assault Support Services, Sexual Assault Survivor Survey (1996).
(6) U.S. Department of Education, Violence and Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools: 1996-1997
(7) Silverman, J., Raj, A., Mucci, L., Hathaway, J. 2001. "Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Abuse, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality." Journal of the American Medical Association. 286(5):572-579.
(8) Harvard School of Public Health (2001). "Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls Linked with Teen Pregnancy, Suicide and Other Health Risk Behaviors. www.Harvard.edu/press/releases/press07312001.html.
(9) Rand, Michael R. 1997. Violence-related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics Washington, D.C.
(10) Gazmararian JA; et al. 2000. "Violence and Reproductive Health; Current Knowledge and Future Research Directions." Maternal and Child Health Journal. 4 (2): 79-84/
(11) Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Atlanta, GA. Retrieved January 9, 2004.
(12) Family Violence Prevention Fund. The Facts on the Workplace and Domestic Violence Against Women. http://endabuse.org/workplace/display.php?DocID=33002.
|
|
