11 Facts About Domestic And Dating Violence

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1. Domestic/dating violence is a pattern of controlling behaviors that one partner uses to get power over the other. Including: physical violence or threat of physical violence to get control, emotional or mental abuse and sexual abuse.^[Siemieniuk, R. A. C.; Krentz, H. B.; Gish, J. A.; Gill, M. J. (2010). "Domestic Violence Screening: Prevalence and Outcomes in a Canadian HIV Population". AIDS Patient Care and STDs 24 (12): 763–770. doi:10.1089/apc.2010.0235. PMID 21138382. .]
2. 85% of domestic violence victims are women.^[Crime Data Brief. "Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001". Bureau of Justice Statistics. .]
3. 1/4 of women worldwide will experience domestic/dating violence in their lifetime. Women between the ages of 20 to 24 are at greatest risk of becoming victims of domestic violence.^[SafeHorizon. "Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts." Accessed March 4, 2015. .]
4. Domestic violence is most likely to take place between 6 pm and 6 am.^[SafeHorizon. "Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts." Accessed March 4, 2015. .]
5. The costs of domestic violence amount to more than $37 billion a year in law enforcement involvement, legal work, medical and mental health treatment, and lost productivity at companies.^[SafeHorizion. "Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts." Accessed March 4, 2015. .]
6. As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during their pregnancy.^[Partnership Against Domestic Violence. "Statistics on Domestic Violence." Accessed March 4, 2015. .]
7. Boys who witness domestic violence are 2 times as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.^[Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence. "Impact on Children." Accessed March 4, 2015. .]
8. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women – more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.^[Cook, Philip W.. "Appendix." In Abused men: the hidden side of domestic violence. 2nd ed. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2009. 198.]
9. 1/2 of all homeless women and children in the U.S. are fleeing from domestic violence.^[American Civil Liberties Union. "Domestic Violence and Homelessness." Women's Rights Project. Accessed March 1, 2014, https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/FilesPDFs/housing%20paper.4.pdf.]
10. Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.^[American Medical Association, 1998, Georgia Department of Human Resources, 1999. Accessed March 1, 2014. .]
11. In 60% to 80% of intimate partner homicides, no matter which partner was killed, the man physically abused the woman before the murder.^[Campbell, Jacquelyn, Webster, Daniel, et al. "Assessing Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Homicide." NIJ Journal: Issue No. 250. Accessed March 4, 2015. .]

Welcome to DoSomething.org, a global movement of millions of young people making positive change, online and off. The 11 facts you want are below, and the sources for the facts are at the very bottom of the page. After you learn something, Do Something. Find out how to take action here.

For crisis intervention, information, referrals, and support, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. For 24/7 crisis support at your fingertips, contact the Crisis Text Line by texting DS to 741741. Additional resources can be found at the bottom of this page.

1. It’s estimated that at least 1 in 7 children in the US has experienced child abuse and/or neglect in the past year.^[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Child Abuse & Neglect: Fast Facts.” Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html]
2. Neglect is the most common form of child abuse, followed by physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse.^[U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. “Child Maltreatment 2018.” Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology /statistics-research/child-maltreatment]
3. In 2018, about 16% of children who were abused experienced more than one kind of maltreatment.^[U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. “Child Maltreatment 2018.” Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology /statistics-research/child-maltreatment]
4. Boys and girls experience similar rates of childhood abuse (48.6% and 51% respectively).^[The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims. “Youth Victimization Fact Sheet.” Accessed July 31, 2020. https://education.victimsofcrime.org/?mdocs-file=360]
5. Rates of child abuse and neglect are 5 times higher for children in families with low socio-economic status compared to children in families with higher socio-economic status.^[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Child Abuse & Neglect: Fast Facts.” Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html]
6. Children younger than one year old are the most vulnerable to maltreatment, accounting for almost half of child fatalities from abuse in 2018.^[U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. “Child Maltreatment 2018.” Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology /statistics-research/child-maltreatment]
7. In 2018, 76% of child abuse perpetrators were a parent to their victim.^[U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. “Child Maltreatment 2018.” Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology /statistics-research/child-maltreatment]
8. In 2018, 62% of children placed in foster care were removed from their homes due to abusive neglect, totalling over 160,000 children.^[U.S. Department o fHealth and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administrationon Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau. “The AFCARS Report #26”. Accessed August 3, 2020. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/afcarsreport26.pdf.]
9. Children who experienced any form of violence in childhood have a 13% greater likelihood of not graduating from high school.^[World Health Organization. “Child Maltreatment.” Accessed July 31, 2020. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/child-maltreatment.]
10. Adult survivors of childhood abuse are more likely to experience mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, eating disorders, and substance use disorders.^[Cameranesi, Margherita et al. “Linking a History of Childhood Abuse to Adult Health Among Canadians: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. May 31, 2019. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6603908/.]
11. Adult survivors of childhood abuse are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors like smoking, alcohol and drug use, and unsafe sex. They’re also more likely to report overall lower health than those who haven’t experienced childhood abuse.^[Springer, Kristen et al. “The Long-term Health Outcomes of Childhood Abuse.” Journal of General Internal Medicine. October 18, 2003. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1494926/.]

Additional Resources

National Child Abuse Hotline: 24/7 at 1-800-422-4453

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 24/7 at 1-800-799−7233

National Sexual Assault Hotline: 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Helpline: 24/7 at 1-800-622-4357

Crisis Text Line: 24/7 text DS to 741741