NCJ Number
185754
Date Published
2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Family violence is viewed as a serious problem that negatively affects many Americans of all races, ages, and income levels, and the author indicates many children who witness domestic violence come to believe such violence is normal and is to be expected in their own adult relationships.
Abstract
Data indicate an individual is battered every 15 seconds in the United States by a spouse or a cohabitator. One in four murders nationwide involves family relationships, and half of all couples have already had at least one violent incident. Further, 63 percent of boys between 11 and 20 years of age who commit homicide kill the man who is beating their mother, 1 in 4 high school dating relationships is violent, and violence is a common occurrence in 10 to 25 percent of all marriages in the United States. In half of spouse-abusing families, children are battered as well. In addition, abuse-related absenteeism results in an estimated economic loss to the United States of $3 billion to $5 billion per year, plus another $100 million in medical expenses. Only 5 percent of victims of domestic violence are male, and 25 percent of all women who are beaten are pregnant. Domestic violence cuts across all racial, age, and economic lines and shatters families at every level of the social structure. The trauma goes beyond the pain of a single incident. Once domestic violence begins in a relationship, a pattern of violence will escalate both in frequency and severity. Domestic violence has no single cause or simple solution, but making society aware of the nature and extent of the problem is important. 1 figure