Domestic Violence Facts

By running and fundraising for the Need For Speed Against Domestic Violence National Relay Series, you become an integral part in the fight against domestic violence.  With your help, we can aid children who have been exposed to or are victims of domestic violence.  Know your facts and understand how important it is to take action and SPEAK OUT so everyone can live a safe and fulfilling life.

Did you know . . .  that 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 It is estimated that more than 3.3 million children are exposed to physical and verbal spousal abuse each year.⁵

Other Important Domestic Violence Facts:

• In homes where domestic violence occurs, children are physically abused and neglected at a rate 15 times higher than the national average.⁶ 
  
  
  
• Several studies have shown that in 60% to 75% of families in which a woman is battered, children are also battered. ⁷
  
  
  
• Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a break-up.⁸
  
  
  
• In one study, sexual abuse before leaving home was reported by 61 percent of homeless girls and 19 percent of homeless boys. ⁹
  
  
  
• Everyday in the U.S., more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.¹⁰
  
  
  
• 92 percent of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.¹¹
  
  
  
• Each year about 324,000 pregnant women in the U.S. are battered by the men in their lives.¹²

What Else Can You Do To Help?

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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
⁵Osofsky, J. The Impact of Violence on Children. The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and Children (1999) 9(3):33-49.
⁶Osofsky, J. The Impact of Violence on Children. The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and Children (1999) 9(3):33-49.
⁷7Osofsky, J. The Impact of Violence on Children. The Future of Children: Domestic Violence and Children (1999) 9(3):33-49.
⁸8 Teen Relationship Abuse Research, Liz Claiborne, Inc., February 2005.
⁹Estes, R.J. and N. A. Weiner. 2001. Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. University of Pennsylvania.
¹⁰Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003.
¹¹Progress and Perils: New Agenda for Women, Center for the Advancement of Women, June 2003.
¹²Gazmararian 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.