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What is Domestic Violence?

safe_what_isDomestic violence or intimate partner violence can be defined as a pattern of behavior where one person controls another through violence, threats of violence, verbal or emotional abuse.  In the U.S.A. a woman is battered every 9 seconds, and over 3 million children witness some form of domestic violence in their homes every year.

Controlling behavior consists of: physical abuse; name-calling; threats; and property destruction.  It includes  threatening children, other family members , and pets.  Other examples are; marital or relationship rape, any forced sexual act , or attempts at isolation from family, loved ones, and others.

Domestic violence victims come from all walks of life.  They are rich and poor, male and female, of all races, religions, education levels, and cultures.  What is universal is that the person who is supposed to love them is the person who they fear.  The message that children receive is that it’s okay to hurt or threaten someone to get what you want. These children are at a far greater risk of becoming abusers or victims themselves.

2015 Statistics

46902

Meals provided to SAFE Shelter residents

3696

Domestic Disturbance calls received by SCMPD

2623

Domestic Disturbance reports written by SCMPD

Savannah Statistics

2013
660 – Women & children assisted by SAFE Shelter
473 – Domestic Violence Act arrests by SCMPD

2014
1,037 – SAFE Shelter crisis calls received
585 – Domestic Violence Act arrests by SCMPD
695 – Victims (women, children, and men) assisted by SAFE Shelter
383 – Children assisted (of the total 695 victims) by SAFE Shelter
58 – Temporary Protective Orders SAFE Shelter helped secure (162 victims, including 74 children)
4 – Domestic Violence related homicides

Georgia Statistics

2013
116 – Recorded Domestic Violence deaths in Georgia
75 – Percent of Domestic Violence related fatalities in Georgia due to firearms
12 – Ranking in the nation from men killing women in single-victim homicides

2014
117 – Recoded Domestic Violence deaths in Georgia
65 – Percent of Domestic Violence related fatalities in Georgia due to firearms
47 – Percentage of Domestic Violence cases where the victim and perpetrator had at
29 – Percentage of Domestic Violence homicides witnessed by a child
least one minor child together at the time of the homicide
9 – Ranking in the nation from men killing women in single-victim homicides

National Stats

Domestic violence or intimate partner violence affects more people than most realize. Continuing to bring it to the forefront of the conversation. Domestic violence knows no boundaries. It occurs in every culture and country, affecting individuals from all educational, socio-economic and religious backgrounds. Victims include the young and the old.

If you see something, say something!

More than 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the U.S. having experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.

Source: Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control, Atlanta, GA.

85% of domestic violence victims are women.

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003.

Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Criminal Victimization, 2005,” September 2006.

4% of percent of lesbian women and 61% of bisexual women – compared to 35% of heterosexual women – experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

26% percent of gay men and 37% of bisexual men – compared to 29% of heterosexual men – experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.

Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Approximately 4 out of every 10 non-Hispanic Black women (43.7%), 4 out of every 10 American Indian or Alaska Native women (46.0%), and 1 in 2 multiracial non-Hispanic women (53.8%) have been the victim of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. These rates are 30%-50% higher than those experienced by Hispanic, White non-Hispanic women and Asian or Pacific non-Hispanic women.

Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence. Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Intimate Partner Violence in the United States,” December 2006.
Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.

Source: Frieze, I.H., Browne, A. (1989) Violence in Marriage. In L.E. Ohlin & M. H. Tonry, Family Violence. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

The most common age when intimate partner violence is first experienced by women is age 18-24 (38.6%), followed by age 11-17 (22.4%), age 35-44 (6.8%) and age 45+ (2.5%). For men the most common age is age 18-24 (47.1%), followed by age 25-34 (30.6%), age 11-17 (15.0%), age 35-44 (10.3%) and age 45+ (5.5%).

Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household.

Source: Edelson, J.L. (1999). “The Overlap Between Child Maltreatment and Woman Battering.” Violence Against Women. 5:134-154.

Among victims of intimate partner violence, 84% of female victims and 61% of male victims disclosed their victimization to someone, primarily a friend or family member. Only 21% of female victims and 6% of male victims disclosed their victimization to a doctor or nurse at some point in their lifetime.

Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.