National Stats. For Domestic Violence

National Statistics

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. 20% of violent crime against women was intimate partner violence, compared to 3 % of violent crime against men. 1 in 15 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape. In 2000, 1,247 women and 440 men were killed by an intimate partner. In 1999, intimate partner homicides accounted for 32% of the murders of females and 4% of the murders of males. Between 3.3 and 10 million American Children witness domestic violence annually (Schechter, 2000). In 43% of households where domestic violence occurs, at least one child under the age of 12 lives in the home (Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, 2000)

According to a National Violence Against Women Survey, 22% of women, 15.4% of gay men, 11.4% of lesbians and 7.7% of heterosexual men, are assaulted by a date or intimate partner during their lives. More than 1 million women and 371,000 men are stalked by partners each year. Women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest per capita rates of intimate violence, 16 per 1,000 women (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001).

According to Study on Teen Dating Abuse done by Liz Claiborne Inc. 53% of victims of domestic violence were abused by a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend. 13% of teenage girls who have been in a relationship report being physically hurt or hit. According to the U.S Department of Justice, it is estimated that one of six rape victims is under the age of 12.

According to RAINN and 2004 National Crime Victimization Survey almost two-thirds of all rapes were committed by someone who is known to the victim 67% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by a non-stranger - 47% of perpetrators were a friend or acquaintance of the victim, 17% were an intimate and 3% were another relative (See graph 1.1).

Texas Statistics

According to Texas Department of Public Safety, 182,087 incidents of family violence were reported to police. There were 195,042 victims and 190,865 offenders of family violence. Of those family violence incidents, 38% of the victims were the wife of the perpetrator. 8% of the victims were the husband of the perpetrator. Nearly 2 million Texans 1,479,912 females and 372,394 males or almost 13% of the population have been sexually assaulted. Only 18% of sexual assault victims report their assault to law enforcements officials. 20% of female victims and 2% of male victims report the assaults. According to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, in 2004, 140 women were killed by an intimate partner, but that number does not include current or former dating partners. 83,349 victims and their children received services though domestic violence programs. 80% were females. 7, 201 victims and their children were denied shelter due to lack of space.

According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Service 2005 annual report, 61,433 children were confirmed as victims of child abuse or neglect in Texas. Of those, 41,305 children were in the custody of Child Protective Services. Confirmed Victims of Abuse/Neglect by Type in 2005, 917 refusal to accept parental responsibility, 14,542 physical abuse, 7,607 sexual abuse, 980 emotional abuse, 474 abandonment, 2,800 medical neglect, 8,415 physical neglect and with the largest numbers was neglectful supervision with 37,344 (see graph 1.2). The age of fatality victims due to abuse or/and neglect by age are, 1-3 years old 29.9%, 4-6 years old 14.9%, 7-9 years old 6.0%, 10-17 years old 7.0%, with the larges being children under the age of 1 with 42.3% (see graph 1.3). Children who died due to abuse or neglect in the state of Texas during the FY of 2005, 42.3 percent were less than one year old, and nearly 72.1 percent were age three or younger. Of 704 child deaths reported in 2005, CPS confirmed abuse/neglect as the cause of death for 201 children.