Domestic Violence

About Domestic Violence

• Domestic Violence is one of the most common of all crimes.
• Acts of domestic violence occur every 13 seconds in the United States.
• About 1/2 of all couples experience at least one violent incident; in 1/4 of all these couples, violence is a common occurrence.
• 20% of all murders in this country are committed within the family, and 13% are committed by spouses.
• Most family violence is committed against women.
• 95% of all spousal assaults are committed by men.
• 21% of all women who use the hospital emergency surgical services are battered.
• 6 million American women are beaten each year by their husbands or boyfriends. 4,000 of them are killed.
• Battering is the single major cause of injury to womenÑmore frequent than auto accidents, muggings and rapes combined.
• 1 in 4 female suicides were victims of family violence.
• In 2001, South Carolina ranked first in the nation with the highest homicide rate for female victims by male offenders. South Carolina's rate for this type of homicide is more than twice the national average.
• There were 48,720 victims of domestic violence in South Carolina in 2000. Based on national trends, an equivalent number of domestic violence incidents went unreported that year.
• Over one million women each year seek medical help for injuries caused by battering.
• Victims of domestic violence are three times more likely to be victimized again than are victims of other types of crimes.
• Children are emotionally traumatized by witnessing violence; many of them grow up to repeat the pattern as victim or abuser.