An article published on Women’s eNews reports on the continuing prevalence of domestic violence against women in the United States. Marie Tessier, the author of the article, points out that in the United States domestic violence causes millions of injuries and over a thousand deaths each year. Experts who were consulted for the article note that female deaths from domestic violence have not declined significantly in the past years. According to the article, the Family Violence Prevention Fund reports that almost one-third of United States women have been victims of domestic violence at some point in their life. Sexual assault rates also remain high and may touch every family in the United States. In 2006, 272,000 sexual assaults against people age 12 and older occured in the United States. Anywhere from 20 to 25 percent of female college students have or will experience sexual violence, according to a 2000 report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports 1,185 female homicides in 2004 and 1,181 in 2005 (the latest year reported).
Domestic violence affects women's heath in surprising ways. For example, domestic violence victims are 80 percent more likely to suffer a stroke, 70 percent more likely to have heart disease, 60 percent more likely to have asthma, and 70 percent more likely to have an alcohol problem, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (For more information on these statistics, see this CDC website on the consequences of domestic violence.)
To read the full article, click here.
Compiled from: Tessier, Marie, “Intimate Violence Remains a Big Killer of Women”, Women’s eNews, 25 July 2008.