Sin by Silence
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE FACT SHEET
Domestic
violence is not a new phenomenon, yet society has only recently begun to
recognize the tragedy of violence against women as a social problem of
extraordinary proportions. For far too many women, home is a place of greater
danger than places in public view – more dangerous than places of work, more
dangerous than interstates and freeways, and more dangerous than city streets.
This crime against women affects nearly one-third of American women. Domestic
violence causes far more pain than the visible marks of bruises and scars. It
is a devastation to be abused by a loved one who you think loves you in return
and has a ripple effect on numerous victims.
Domestic abuse
creates a cycle of violence. Children who are abused or witness abuse are at a
higher risk of abusing their own family and significant others as an adult. In
addition, they also are at risk for long-term physical and mental health
problems, including alcohol and substance abuse. It is evident that these abuse
victims follow the example they learned in childhood and continue the cycle of
violence when they are adults. According to the National Teen Dating Abuse
Hotline, domestic violence is witnessed by between 3.3 and 10 million children
every year, and these are only the cases reported. Forty percent of girls aged
14 to 17 report knowing someone their age that has been hit or beaten by a
boyfriend; and approximately one in five female high school students report
being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.
It has been only
been about 40 years since our country began to take notice of what is happening
behind closed doors. In 1978, the United States formed the National Coalition
Against Domestic Violence along with the first battered women’s program opening
in North Carolina. By the early 1980s,
statistics proved that isolated cases of abuse were part of a shocking national
problem. As a result, victims became more visible, as well as the inadequacy of
society's response. The battered women's movement emerged, becoming one of the
most powerful social justice and service movements in United States history.
Shelters and
hotlines began to spring up around the country and what began as a social,
service-based response to crisis began to take on political urgency. The
staggering numbers of women and children turning to shelters continually
outpaced the growth of the movement. The shelter work uncovered endless horror
stories: law enforcement officials who mislabeled domestic disturbances, judges
who ruled in favor of perpetrators, and health care providers who mishandled
violence-related injuries. At every turn, women seeking help could expect
indifference, hostility, and endangerment. It became clear that helping women
in crisis required more than front-line emergency service: it required changing
the established social institutions and the laws affecting them.
During the
1980s, a vibrant network of nearly two thousand domestic violence programs in
the United States organized into state coalitions to take on the challenge of
pressuring social institutions to adequately respond to victims. The 1990s proved to be a turning point decade
with the Violence Against Women Act being passed in 1994. This major federal bill provided more than $1
billion to assist shelters, train law enforcement personnel and judges, and
support other crime-prevention efforts addressing violence against women. The
decade also saw the trial of O. J. Simpson for allegedly
murdering his
former wife, Nicole, and her friend. Though he was eventually acquitted of
criminal charges, Simpson's case launched unprecedented media coverage of the
issues of domestic violence.
Over the last 20
years, researchers have finally started to explore the lives and experiences of
battered women who killed their abusive male partners due to the evidence found
in the area of domestic violence over the decades. Yet tragically, domestic
violence remains an unavoidable threat to the fabric of all families and the
well being of society’s future.
As Abraham
Lincoln once stated, “To SIN BY SILENCE when we should protest makes cowards of
men.” SIN BY SILENCE can help create and
inspire advocates to be part of a movement of change that alters the country’s
political and judicial scenarios and stigmas.
It is about changing lives and being part of a larger movement that
addresses all types of violence against all women.
The goal of the
SIN BY SILENCE team is for the documentary to be the catalyst that can lead to
the collaboration of knowledge and action.
Knowledge that is developed through the CWAA stories of pain, tragedy,
inspiration and triumph. Action that
will lead to safer communities, homes and families.
NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
STATISTICS
One in four
women (25 percent) have experienced domestic violence in her lifetime.
(The National Institute of Justice, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of
Intimate Partner Violence)
Up to 6 million
women who are physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year.
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Women account
for 85 percent of the victims of intimate partner violence, men for
approximately 15percent.
(Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief)
Women aged 16-24
are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.
(Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Approximately
one in five female high school students reports being physically and/or
sexually abused by a dating partner.
(Journal of the American Medical Association)
Forty percent of
girls aged 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age that has been hit or
beaten by a boyfriend.
(Kaiser Permanente)
Studies suggest
that between 3.3 - 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence
annually.
(National Crime Victimization Survey)
Nearly 2.2
million people called a domestic violence crisis or hot line in 2004 to escape
crisis situations, seek advice, or assist someone they thought might be
victims.
(National Network to End Domestic Violence)
Nearly three out
of four (75 percent) of Americans personally know someone who is or has been a victim
of domestic violence. 30 percent of Americans say they know a woman who has
been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year.
(Family Violence Prevention Fund)
The
health-related costs of intimate partner violence exceed $5.8 billion each
year. Of that amount, nearly $4.1 billion is for direct medical and mental
health care services, and nearly $1.8 billion is for the indirect costs of lost
productivity or wages.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
About half of
all female victims of intimate violence report an injury of some type, yet only
20 percent of them seek medical assistance.
(National Crime Victimization Survey)
Thirty-seven
percent of women who sought treatment in emergency rooms for violence-related
injuries in 1994 were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or
girlfriend.
(U.S. Department of Justice)
On average, more
than four women and one man are murdered by their intimate partners in this
country every day.
(Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief)
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