EVERY WOMAN'S HOUSE

Did you know . . .

• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the US, more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined?¹
• At least one in every three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused during her lifetime.²
• Most often (64% of the time), the abuser is a member of her own family or an intimate partner.³
• Sadly, slightly more than half of domestic violence victims live in households with children under the age of twelve.⁴
• Domestic Violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness for women and children.⁵
• There have been more than 614 domestic violence-related homicides in North Carolina since 2003.⁶
• In Illinois during a one year period between 2009-2010, 76 people lost their lives to domestic violence.⁷
• 15.5 million U.S. children live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year, and seven million children live in families in which severe partner violence occurred.⁸
• In homes where domestic violence occurs, children are physically abused and neglected at a rate 15 times higher than the national average.⁹
• Several studies have shown that in 60% to 75% of families in which a woman is battered, children are also battered.¹⁰
• Nearly one in five teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a break-up.¹¹
• In one study, sexual abuse before leaving home was reported by 61% of homeless girls and 19% of homeless boys.¹²
• Everyday in the U.S., more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.¹³
• 92 percent of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.¹⁴
• Each year about 324,000 pregnant women in the U.S. are battered by the men in their lives.¹⁵

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¹Surgeon General of the United States Report of 1996.
²Heise, L., Ellsberg, M. and Gottemoeller, M. Ending Violence Against Women.  Population Reports,    Series L, No. 11., December 1999.
³Patricia Tjaden and Nancy Thoennes, Extent, Nature and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence, National Institute of Justice, 2000.
⁴U.S. Department of Justice, Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, March 1998
⁵www.helpusa.org/Programs/domestic_violence_services.
⁶Domestic Violence Advocacy Council, Mecklenburg County North Carolina December 2, 2010
⁷Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence Homicide Report: June 2009 – May 2010
⁸McDonald, Renee, Ernest N. Jouriles, Suhasini Ramisetty-Mikler, et al. 2006. Estimating the Number of American Children Living in Partner- Violent Families. Journal of Family Psychology 20(1): 137-142.
⁹Osofsky, J. The Impact of Violence on Children. The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and Children (1999) 9(3):33-49.
¹⁰Osofsky, J. The Impact of Violence on Children. The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and Children (1999) 9(3):33-49.
¹¹Teen Relationship Abuse Research, Liz Claiborne, Inc., February 2005.
¹²Estes, R.J. and N. A. Weiner. 2001. Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. University of Pennsylvania.
¹²Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003.
¹⁴Progress and Perils: New Agenda for Women, Center for the Advancement of Women, June 2003.
¹⁵Gazmararian JA, Petersen R, Spitz AM, Goodwin MM, Saltzman LE, Marks JS. 2000. “Violence and Reproductive Health:Current Knowledge and Future Research Directions.” Maternal and Child Health Journal. 4(2):79-84.