October: Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and many organizations, including the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, are planning many programs to address the issue and help people get the assistance they need.

Some quick facts and figures:
Rank of domestic violence among causes of homelessness in 44% of cities surveyed: 1
(source: U.S. Conference of Mayors, A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities: A 25-City Survey, December 2003)

Factor by which children of an abused parent are more likely to be abused themselves: 2
(source: "Domestic Violence". Administration for Children and Families (ACF), 2001)

Percentage of all domestic abuse victims who are men: 15
(source: "Intimate Partner Violence, 1993 - 2001." Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003)

Percentage of mothers under 18 who experience domestic violence within three months of their child's birth: 26
(source: Family Planning Perspectives, Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1999)

Percentage of women treated in emergency rooms for violent injuries who were hurt by a current or former partner: 37
(source: "Violence Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments." U.S. Department of Justice, August 1997)

Percentage of women murdered by an intimate partner who visited an emergency room in the two years prior to their deaths: 44
(source: "Predicting Future Injury Among Women in Abusive Relationships." The Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection, and Critical Care, 2004).

Number of women killed by domestic partners each year: 1,200
(source: Bureau of Justice Statistic)

Number of calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline since 1996: 1,000,000
(source: National Domestic Violence Hotline)

Amount by which federal family violence prevention services programs were underfunded in 2005: $48,000,000
(source: Campaign for Funding to End Violence Against Women. FY 2006 Budget Briefing Book)

Annual health-related costs, lost-productivity costs, and lost earnings due to intimate partner violence: $5,900,000,000
(source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003)

For more information:
Mother Jones (source for statistics listed above)
Family Violence Prevention Fund
National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women
Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act
Fratman1906 blog entries on LGBT domestic violence issues

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