Research Facts on Domestic Violence

Victims of Domestic Violence:

• 8-11% of all pregnant women are abused by their partner (Newberger, Barkan, Lieberman, et al, 1992).
  
• If a victim does not notify law enforcement, there is a 40% chance that another assault will occur within 6 mos. (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics).
  
• 22-35% of women visiting emergency rooms seek treatment for injuries related to domestic violence (Flitcraft, Hadley, et al, 1992).
  
• identified barriers to seeking help (e.g., fear of exacerbating the violence, strong emotional and economic bonds with the perpetrator, believing the perpetrator will change, feeling helpless, and feeling at fault and as a result embarrassed to reveal abuse) (Brookoff, O'Brien, Cook, Thompson, & Williams, 1997).
  
• experiencing violence at the hands of a partner has significant adverse effects on a sense of personal control for women, and their self-perceptions but not for men (Umberson, Anderson, Glick, Shapiro, 1998).
  
• In a review article of domestic violence around the world, Lenore Walker concluded that "Although each country has unique factors that determine the services and resources available to battered women, children exposed to domestic violence, and abusive partners, it is the interaction among gender, political structure, religious beliefs, attitudes toward violence in general, and violence toward women, as well as state-sponsored violence, such as civil conflicts and wars, and the migration within and between countries that ultimately determine women's vulnerability and safety (Walker, 1999).
  
• Women who experienced abuse as adults suffered more ill-effects to their mental health than did those who did not experience such abuse; also those who experienced both adult and child abuse suffered more ill-effects than did women who experienced abuse either as an adult or as a child (Roberts, Williams, Lawrence, Joan Raphael, 1998).
  
• psychological abuse appears to have as great an impact as physical abuse (O'Leary, 1999).

  Outcome of Intervention:
  

• more severe sentences (e.g., jail combined with probation vs either probation or jail) corresponded with lower recidivism likelihood (Thistlewaite, Wooldredge, Gibbs, 1998)
  
• alcoholism treatment substantially contributes to reducing the incidence of domestic violence but does not eliminate it (Maiden, 1997). [ Training in sensitivity to women and male-female roles and relationships, anger management, communication and conflict resolution skills are also essential.]
  
• For both the 1st and 2nd year after Behavior Marital Therapy, violence was significantly reduced and the extent of violence was associated with the extent of drinking alcohol. (O'Farrell, Van Hutton, & Murphy, 1999).
  
• Batterers who completed domestic violence (DV) group treatment had fewer DV reoffenses at follow-up, and incarcerated batterers had a greater number, as compared with DV treatment noncompleters, after controlling for criminal record and demographics (Babcock & Steiner,1999)

  Domestic Violence and Children:
  

• 50-70% of men who abuse their spouses or partners also abuse their children (The Governor's Task force on Domestic Violence, 1994.)
  
• children were disproportionately present in households with domestic violence and young children were disproportionately represented among these children (Fantuzzo, Boruch, Beriama, & Atkins, 1997).
  
• A variety of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive-functioning problems among children were found to be associated with their witnessing domestic violence (Edleson, 1999).
  
• A child's participation in and completion of DV services was closely associated with whether the child was living with his/her mother and the level of services provided to the mother and father (Peled & Edleson, 1998).
  
• A child's witnessing DV status was found to be a significant predictor of PTSD (Kilpatrick & Williams, 1997).

  Professionals:
  

• The therapists surveyed did not attend to the seriousness of the violence if they attended to the violence at all. The majority of interventions failed to address the crisis and the need for protection of the wife (Hansen, M., Harway, M, & Cervantes, N. ( 1991 ). Therapists' perceptions of severity in cases of family violence. Violence & Victims. 1991 Fal Vol 6(3) 225-235 .) N=362
  
• there is greater awareness among professionals of the interrelationship between domestic violence and child abuse (Wilson, 1998).