The domestic violence movement (also known as the battered women's movement) has, since its beginning, understood that abuse is not an individual woman's problem, but a social problem. The movement understands that the institutions of our culture reinforce the idea that violence within intimate relationships is acceptable and, at the same time, blame women for being victims of domestic violence.
Abuse is the use of dominance and control and is connected to all other forms of oppression including racism, sexism, and homophobia. The tactics used in domestic violence are the same as those of all oppressors: the belief that one individual/group has the right to control another individual/group and to act in ways to ensure that compliance is achieved and maintained. These cultural values require social change—not just a change in individual thinking and behavior, but a restructuring of society and institutional changes. Thus, the work of the domestic violence movement constantly advocates for individual safety while striving to eliminate institutional and cultural support of domestic violence.
The domestic violence movement also understands that the most effective work is based on peer support and self-help that encourages women to exchange information and support while making decisions for themselves. The work of individual and social change becomes a movement when large numbers of people share a vision and work together to make that vision a reality.
The domestic violence movement has developed over the past several decades, and the way we think about violence in the home has been changed. Women who were being abused began to say “No more” and started organizing to create hotlines and shelters for abused women and their children. It is vitally important that the domestic violence movement continue to look to the leadership of
abused and formerly abused women as we proceed to refine and carry our strategies necessary to reach our vision of a society without domestic violence.
The task we now face is continuing the work to redefine violence in the home as intolerable and illegal; to challenge the abuser's sense of entitlement to service and obedience, and to provide safety and support for those being abused.
Relationship Violence
- In 1998, 7.7 per 1,000 women and 1.5 per 1,000 men were victims of intimate partner violence. During the same year, 1,830 murders were attributed to intimate partners (Rennison, May 2000).
- Of all violent victimizations by intimate partners, 85 percent were against women; 59 percent of those women reported the crime (Ibid).
- An estimated 60 to 75 percent of women in substance abuse treatment programs have experienced partner violence during their lifetimes (El-Bassel, 2000).
- Nearly 25 percent of surveyed women and 7.6 percent of surveyed men said they were raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, or cohabitation partner, or a date at some time in their lifetime (Tjaden, November 1998).
- On average, women who were physically assaulted multiple times said their victimization occurred over a period of 4.5 years (lbid).
- Of all pregnant women, 3.9 percent to 8.3 percent experience violence. This data suggests that violence may be a more common problem for pregnant women than preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes, conditions for which pregnant women are routinely screened (Goodwin, etal., 2000).
- In the United States, there are over 3,400 animal protection shelters and only about 1,200 shelters for battered women (Buel, 1994).
- Antonio Novello, the former Surgeon General, has estimated that domestic violence kills 58,000 people every five years, the same number lost in the Vietnam War (Gardner, 1992).
Teen Dating Violence
- A study of over 1,000 high school students found that 45 percent of females, and 43 percent of males, reported being the victim of violence from dating partners at least once (Okeefe, 1998).
- A study found that girls were much more likely to be punched and to be forced to engage in sexual activity against their will. Boys, on the other hand, were significantly more likely to be pinched, slapped, scratched, and kicked (Ibid).
- In discussing violent dating relationships, female teens reported that males they dated initiated abuse 70 percent of the time, and males in the same study reported that females they dated initiated abuse 27 percent of the time (Molidor, 1998).
- In a study of 635 high school students, less than 3 percent of those suffering violence reported it to an authority figure; only 6 percent told a family member (Ibid).
- In a study that followed 111 female participants for five years (between grades eight and twelve), 23 percent of the subjects reported sexual coercion or abuse by dates or boyfriends, 15 percent reported unwanted vaginal intercourse with dates or boyfriends, and 10 percent reported other forms of sexual assault such as being fondled or forced to perform oral intercourse (Telljohan, 1995).
- During a study of 1,700 eighth and ninth graders, schools with Safe Dates treatment programs reported 27 percent less psychological abuse perpetration, and 61 percent less sexual violence perpetration (Foshee, 1998).
For additional information, please contact:
National Center for Victims of Crime, 2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300 Arlington, VA 22201 (703)276-2880 (703)276-2889 (fax) E-mail: ncvc@ncvc.org Web site: www.ncvc.org
U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports Clarksburg, WV 26306-0154 (304)625-4995
National Criminal Justice Reference Service U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice, Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000 (800)851-3420 (301)519-5500 km.Web site: www.ncjrs.org
Reprinted, not in its entirety, from Crime and Victimization in America, Statistical Overview, National Center for Victims of Crime, 2000 edition