Intimate Partner Violence: Fact Sheet
OCCURRENCE
- Nearly 5.3 million intimate partner victimizations
occur each year among U.S. women ages 18 and older. This violence results in
nearly 2 million injuries and nearly 1,300 deaths (CDC 2003).
- Estimates indicate more than 1 million women and
371,000 men are stalked by intimate partners each year (Tjaden and Thoennes
2000b).
- Intimate partner violence occurs across all
populations, irrespective of social, economic, religious, or cultural group.
However, young women and those below the poverty line are disproportionately
affected (Heise and Garcia-Moreno 2002).
- Nearly 25% of women have been raped and/or physically
assaulted by an intimate partner at some point in their lives, and more than
40% of the women who experience partner rapes and physical assaults sustain a
physical injury (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000b).
- As many as 324,000 women each year experience IPV during their pregnancy (Gazmararian et al.
2000).
- Intimate partner violence accounted for 20% of all
nonfatal violent crime experienced by women in 2001 (Rennison 2003).
- Forty-four percent of women murdered by their
intimate partner had visited an emergency department within 2 years of the
homicide, 93% of whom had at least one injury visit (Crandall et al. 2004).
- Firearms were the major weapon type used in intimate partner homicides from
1981 to 1998 (Paulozzi et al. 2001).
CONSEQUENCES
Physical
- Women with a history of IPV report 60% higher rates
of all health problems than do women with no history of abuse (Campbell et al.
2002).
- IPV victims report lasting negative health problems, such as chronic pain,
gastrointestinal disorders, and irritable bowel syndrome, which can
interfere with or limit daily functioning (Heise and Garcia-Moreno 2002).
- The more severe the abuse, the greater its impact on a women's physical and
mental health, resulting in a
cumulative effect over time (Leserman et al. 1996) (Koss, Koss and Woodruff
1991).
- Intimate partner violence also affects reproductive
health and can lead to gynecological disorders, unwanted pregnancy, premature
labor and birth, and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS (Heise,
Moore and Toubia 1995).
- IPV victims have a higher prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases,
hysterectomy, and heart or circulatory conditions (He et al. 1998).
Psychological
- Adolescents involved with an abusive partner report
increased levels of depressed mood, substance use, antisocial behavior, and,
in females, suicidal behavior (Roberts, Klein and Fisher 2003).
- Abused girls and women often experience adverse mental health conditions,
such as depression,
anxiety, and low self-esteem (Mercy et al. 2003).
- Women with a history of IPV are more likely to display behaviors that present
further health risks, such as substance abuse, alcoholism, and increased risk of
suicide attempts (Coker et al. 2000).
Social
- Researchers report that children who witness IPV are
at greater risk of developing psychiatric disorders, developmental problems,
school failure, violence against others, and low self-esteem (Nelson et al.
2004).
- Women in violent relationships have been found to be restricted in the way
they gain access to services, take part in public life, and receive emotional
support from friends and relatives (Heise and Garcia-Moreno 2002).
Economic
- The costs of IPV against women exceed an estimated
$5.8 billion. These costs include nearly $4.1 billion in the direct costs of
medical and mental health care and nearly $1.8 billion in the indirect costs
of lost productivity (CDC 2003).
- Victims of IPV lose a total of nearly 8 million days
of paid work-the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs-and nearly 5.6
million days of household productivity each year as a result of the violence
(CDC 2003).
- Lloyd and Taluc (1999) found that women who experienced male-perpetrated IPV
were more likely to experience spells of unemployment, have health problems, and
be welfare recipients.
GROUPS VULNERABLE TO VICTIMIZATION
- Both men and women experience IPV. However, women are
2 to 3 times more likely to report an intimate partner pushed grabbed or
shoved them and 7 to 14 times more likely to report an intimate partner beat
them up, choked them, or tied them down (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000a).
- American Indian/Alaska Native women and men report
more violent victimization than do women and men of other racial backgrounds
(Tjaden and Thoennes 2000b).
- In the United States, researchers estimate that 40%
to 70% of female murder victims were killed by their husbands or boyfriends,
frequently in the context of an ongoing abusive relationship (Bailey et al.
1997).
- In a survey of boys and girls ages 8 to 12 years,
girls cited concerns about IPV while boys did not consider IPV an issue
(Sheehan, Kim and Galvin 2004).
- Hispanic women are more likely than non-Hispanic women to report instances of
intimate partner rape (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000a).
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