It is estimated that 166,131 (33.4%) women in New Hampshire have experienced physical assault by an intimate partner. That number is greater than the population of Manchester and Concord combined by almost 14,000.
For the majority of victims of either sexual or physical violence, the perpetrator of the most recent assault they experienced was someone whom they knew.
17% of women in the study reported experiencing both sexual and physical violence.
Consistent with other research, women reporting multiple types of abuse also reported poorer physical health. Women who report having a chronic disease or medical condition were more likely to report sexual and physical violence than women who do not report having a chronic disease or medical condition.
Domestic Violence in the U.S.
On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country everyday.ii
Women ages 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk for intimate partner violence.iii
40% of teenage girls, ages 14 to 17, say they know someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.iv
Homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women in the United States.v 50%-75% of women abused before pregnancy are abused during pregnancy.vi
Victims of domestic violence often return to their abusers because they cannot find long-term housing.vii In a survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, 50% of citities surveyed cited domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness.viii
The Cost of Domestic Violence
Intimate partner victimization against U.S. women ages 18 and older result in more than 18.5 million mental health care visits each year.ix
A study released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in October 2005 found that health care costs associated with each incident of domestic violence were $948 in cases where women were the victims and $387 in cases where men were the victims. The study also found that domestic violence against women results in more emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations, including greater use of physician services than domestic violence where men are the victims.x
The annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence is estimated as $727.8 million. Victims lose nearly 8 million days of paid work as a result of the violence.ix
A recent national survey of CEOs and employees found that 1 in 4 women in the workplace identify as a domestic violence survivor or victim.xi
The majority of executives in this same survey recognized the significant impact that domestic violence has on productivity and the bottom line, however only 13% say corporations should address the problem in a concerted way. In contrast 9 out of 10 employees surveyed say businesses should be part of the solution to ending domestic violence.xi
Statistics compiled by the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence from the following sources:
i Family Violence Prevention Fund. "Model Policy on Domestic Violence in the Workplace."
ii Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003.
iii U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Statistics, "Intimate Partner Violence in the United States," December 2006.
iv Children Now/Kaiser Permanente poll, December, 1995.
v Krulewitch, C., Pierre-Louis, M.L., deLeon-Gome, R., and Green, R. "Hidden from View: Violent Deaths Among Pregnant Women in the District of Columbia, 1988-1996."
vi Saltzman, L.E., Johnson, C.H., Gilbert, B.C., Goodwin, F. "Physical Abuse Around the Time of Pregnancy: An Examination of Prevalence and Risk Factors in 16 States." Maternal and Child Health Journal, Vol 7, pg 31-42, 2003.
vii Correia, A., Housing and Battered Women: A Case Study of Domestic Violence Programs in Iowa. Harrisburg, PA: National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, March 1999.
viii The U.S. Conference of Mayors (2005)
ix Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 2003. Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. Atlanta, GA: U.S.
x Arias, I., Corso, P. "Average Cost Per Person Victimized by an Intimate Partner of the Opposite Gender: A Comparison of Men and Women." Violence and Victims. 2005, Aug: 20(4): 379-91.
xi "Corporate Leaders and America's Workforce of Domestic Violence": A survey commissioned by Safe Horizon, the Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, and Liz Claiborne, Inc. (Released September 2007).