Domestic Violence is more common than you think.
- Domestic violence happens in every community. It is a common occurrence unlimited by age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or religion.
- In the United States, approximately 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner.
- Statistics show that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced intimate partner violence severe enough to affect their functioning.
- In Alabama, over 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced domestic violence involving physical assault, sexual assault, or stalking in their lifetime.
- Domestic violence has a disproportionate effect on women.
- Women experience sexual and physical violence at higher rates than men and are over three times more likely to have been injured due to that violence.
- Women more frequently experience fear, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and concerns for their physical safety.
- Over half of female homicide deaths in the United States result from intimate partner violence.
Domestic Violence affects more than just individuals.
The effects of domestic violence can be devastating at both the personal and community level. Its prevalence significantly impacts local economics, business, crime rates, and community health. These effects make intimate partner abuse a burden that ripples through the community affecting more than just the families involved. It affects us all and has the potential to continue to do so in the future if we do not address domestic violence as the community health crisis that it is.
Economic Impact of Domestic Violence
Intimate partner violence costs more than $5.8 billion annually in the United States. Approximately $4.1 billion of these costs are associated with medical and mental health services. Other expenses related to intimate partner violence include lost productivity, property theft, property damage, law enforcement, social, and legal services. Intimate partner violence has a per victim cost of an estimated $103,767 for women and $23,414 for men. These expenses extend beyond the individual to affect businesses, insurance rates related to collective crime risk, and poverty levels within communities.
Effect on Job Stability
Abusive partners often employ methods to control their partner’s finances and ability to support themselves. These behaviors often affect a victim’s job performance and can result in absenteeism and termination. Between 21% to 60% of victims of intimate partner violence lost their jobs for reasons related to their abuse. Employee absenteeism impacts businesses with lost productivity, and termination of employment results in the expense of training a new employee. Because job stability and financial independence are protective factors against domestic abuse, losing these affects the victim’s ability to leave their abuser. This situation is a loss for both parties.
Impact on Health
The most common consequence of intimate partner violence is physical injury. However, victims’ most traumatic health effects are often unseen. Victims of intimate partner violence are frequently exposed to repeated traumatic stress. This profoundly affects mental health and can place victims at risk of depression and suicide. Additionally, women who are sexually abused are at risk of unintended or forced pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections due to the inability to control the use of safe-sex protection. It has been found that chronic stress in an abusive environment can affect maternal health and lead to birth complications, including low birth weight for infants. Intimate partner violence has also been linked to the risk of developing harmful coping mechanisms such as substance abuse.
Domestic Violence-Related Homicide
The risk of homicide is present in abusive relationships. One in five homicide victims in the United States was murdered by a current or former intimate partner. This level of violence often extends beyond the couple involved. Twenty percent of domestic violence-related homicide deaths included another family member, new intimate partner, friend, a by-standing stranger caught in the violence, or a responding law enforcement officer. Domestic violence calls are the most dangerous type of service call our law enforcement officers can respond to.
Child Exposure to Violence and Trauma
Almost one in six children in the United States have been exposed to intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Children who witnessed abuse showed stress reactions, including ‘fight-or-flight’ behaviors such as yelling at the perpetrator to stop, running from the abuse, or calling for help. In addition, violent or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to the child’s risk of growing up to imitate or tolerate similar behaviors in their relationships. This is referred to as the intergenerational transmission of violence. This is the passing of the cycle of violence from one generation to the next.