Deborah S. Bauer
Liberty University
ABSTRACT The negative causes of domestic violence are staggering; our children who witness domestic abuse are affected for life. We can offer social and legal intervention for victims of domestic violence to better protect the victims. Let’s take a deeper look into the realm of domestic violence. Domestic violence in the United States alone is estimated to cost the economy a staggering 5.8 billion dollars a year. One in every three women has been abused sexually or beaten or suffered other forms of abuse in their lifetime. Many of these attacks have been by members of the victims own family. It has been suggested that up to 10 million children have been witness to some form of domestic violence and many of the children become victims themselves. More than three women in the United States lose their lives each day at the hands of their boyfriends, partners, or husbands. Nearly 8 million days of paid work per year, equivalent to approximately 32,000 full time jobs are missed by victims of domestic violence. Research shows us that men who at a young age witnessed domestic conflicts between their parents are more than twice as likely to abuse the women in their own lives. Resources for victims need to be made more available, laws need to be changed to protect the lives of the victim, and children need to be protected from the effects of domestic violence.
Staggering Statistics of Domestic Violence
WHAT ARE THE STATISTICS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE?
Not only the United States but many parts of the world have serious ongoing problems with domestic violence. Where it was once believed that only women suffered from domestic abuse, in all reality men are also victims of their female partners, same sex partnerships also suffer domestic abuse. However, the majority of abuse cases reported to the local police and seen in our emergency departments today are from women
References: Domestic Violence MMWR (2008, February 8). Adverse Health Conditions And Health Risk Behaviors Associated With Intimate Partner Violence- United States 2005. www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtm/mm5705a1.htm. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2003) Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women In The United States. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln. (2008). Domestic Violence Roundtable. http://www.hiddenhurt.co.uk/sitemap.html