Facts and Stats

Domestic Violence & Children

  • Children exposed to violence may have difficulty paying attention in school and experience depression and withdrawal.
  • In the long run, children who witness or experience violence at home are much more likely to perpetuate the cycle of abuse in their own relationships as they grow into adulthood.
  • 1 in 15 children in the United States had been exposed to physical intimate partner violence in the previous year and 5.7% were exposed to psychological intimate partner violence in the previous year.
  • In 2021, 80% of shelters discovered that the second most popular help they offered, after emergency housing, was support and advocacy for children.
  • Almost 60% of children who witnessed domestic violence also experienced child maltreatment in their lifetimes.
  • Children who witness incidents of domestic violence (a form of childhood trauma) are at greater risk of serious adult health problems including obesity, cancer, heart disease, depression, substance abuse, tobacco use and unintended pregnancies than peers who did not witness domestic violence

Source: dv_and_children.pdf (speakcdn.com)

Child Sexual Violence

Child sexual abuse is a significant public health problem and an adverse childhood experience (ACE).

Child sexual abuse refers to the involvement of a child (person less than 18 years old) in sexual activity that violates the laws or social taboos of society and that he/she:

  • does not fully comprehend
  • does not consent to or is unable to give informed consent to, or
  • is not developmentally prepared for and cannot give consent to
  • 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 20 boys in the United States experience child sexual abuse.
  • Experiencing child sexual abuse can affect how a person thinks, acts, and feels over a lifetime.
  • Females exposed to child sexual abuse are at 2-13 times increased risk of sexual violence victimization in adulthood
  • People who experienced child sexual abuse are at twice the risk for non-sexual intimate partner violence

Source on child sexual violence: Fast Facts: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse |Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC

Domestic Violence -Intimate Partner Violence 

Intimate partner violence, most discussed as domestic violence, is any physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking by a current or former romantic/intimate partner. We often think about this public health concern in terms of physical violence, but it includes emotional, verbal, and psychological abuse as well.

 

1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime (CDC, 2022)

1 in 5 women and 1 in 13 men experienced sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime (CDC, 2022)

Bisexual women are 1.8 times more likely to experience IPV compared with heterosexual women (Brown & Herman, 2015)

Lifetime exposure to IPV among transgender people ranges from 31-50% (Brown & Herman, 2015)

Lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence for LGBTQIA+ communities (CDC, 2017):

For women:

  • 61% bisexual women
  • 44% lesbian women
  • 35% heterosexual women

For men:

  • 37% bisexual men
  • 26% gay men
  • 29% heterosexual men

In the U.S, over half of female homicides result from current or former intimate partners (CDC, 2022)

The risk of intimate partner homicide is 5-7 times higher when an abuser has access to a firearm (CDPHE, n.d.)

People with a disability have a nearly double lifetime risk of IPV victimization (CDC, 2017)

National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (CDC, 2017) notes a great disparity for BIPOC folks:

Lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence for women broken down by race/ethnicity:

  • Multiracial: 57%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native: 48%
  • Black: 45%
  • White: 37%
  • Hispanic: 34%
  • Asian/Pacific Islander: 18%

Lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence for men broken down by race/ethnicity:

  • Multiracial: 42%
  • American/Indian/Alaska Native: 41%
  • Black: 40%
  • White: 30%
  • Hispanic: 30%
  • Asian/Pacific Islander: 14%

According to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior survey, among students who reported dating, 10% had experienced physical dating violence and 11% had experienced sexual dating violence in the past 12 months (CDC, 2017)

In Colorado:

  • 38.8% of women and 30.5% of men experienced IPV, sexual violence, and/or stalking
  • 17.9% of firearm deaths between 2016-2020 involved IPV
  • 91 fatalities related to domestic violence in 2021
  • 81% of IPV fatalities in 2021 were due to firearms
  • (CDPHE, n.d.)

Impacts of IPV

Impacts on individuals who experience intimate partner domestic violence include:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • PTSD
  • Increased risk of drug and alcohol use
  • Chronic pain
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Housing instability
  • Homelessness

(CDPHE, n.d.)

Conditions such as, many chronic in nature:

  • Cardiovascular
  • Gastrointestinal
  • Reproductive
  • Musculoskeletal
  • Nervous system conditions

(CDC, 2017)

41% of female IPV survivors and 14% of male survivors experience injury as a result of IPV (CDC, 2017)

52% of women and 17% of men experience PTSD as a result of IPV (CDC, 2017)

In the mid-1990s, the most recent study to date, estimated the societal cost of IPV to be $5.8 billion based on medical and mental health services and lost productivity alone (CDC, 2017)

 

Sexual Violence 

Sexual violence is an umbrella term for any unwanted sexual act which includes rape, attempted rape, intrafamilial sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, or other acts of sexual intrusion or abuse, including non-physical verbal acts of violence. It is a broader term than sexual assault because it includes behaviors such as hate crimes based on gender, sexual harassment, or any form of violence with a sexual or gender component (CCASA, 2021).

 

National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (CDC, 2022) notes a great disparity for BIPOC folks:

Lifetime prevalence of rape for women broken down by race/ethnicity:

  • Black: 29%
  • White: 28.1%
  • Hispanic: 19.7%
  • Asian/Pacific Islander: 17.2%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native: 43.7%

 

Lifetime prevalence of rape for men broken down by race/ethnicity:

  • Black: 2.9%
  • White: 3.9%
  • Hispanic: 3.2%
  • Multiracial: 6.3%

 

Lifetime prevalence of unwanted sexual contact for women broken down by race/ethnicity:

  • Black: 40.5%
  • White: 51.5%
  • Hispanic: 34.8%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native: 44.2%
  • Multiracial: 67.3%

 

Lifetime prevalence of unwanted sexual contact for men broken down by race/ethnicity:

  • Black: 20.8%
  • White: 23.8%
  • Hispanic: 22.5%
  • Asian/Pacific Islander: 21.5%
  • American Indian/Alaska Native: 29.2%
  • Multiracial: 32.7%

83.4% of women were victimized before age 25, and 49% were less than 18 years old

86.1% of men were victimized before age 25, and 56.6% were less than 18 years old

Individuals who identify as LGBTQ are at higher risk for sexual victimization (NSVRC/PCAR, 2012). Studies show that a lifetime prevalence of sexual assault for women who identify as bisexual or lesbian is between 16% and 85%. The same studies show a lifetime prevalence of sexual assault for men who identify as bisexual or gay is between 12% and 54%.

Sexual assault in LGBTQ communities also manifests as a hate crime. Studies show that a lifetime prevalence for women who identify as bisexual or lesbian experiencing sexual assault as a hate crime is between 2% and 45%, while men experience it between 10% and 57% (NSVRC/PCAR, 2012).

Impacts of Sexual Violence

Impacts on individuals who experience sexual violence include:

  • PTSD
  • Depression
  • Risk of suicide
  • Non-suicidal self-injury
  • Dissociation
  • Body image and eating disorders
  • Substance use disorders
  • Asthma
  • Frequent headaches
  • Chronic pain
  • Difficulty sleeping

For women, this can also include irritable bowel syndrome, and for men it can include increased risk for HIV/AIDS and serious difficulty hearing (CDC, 2022)

It can also include difficulty with the following activities:

  • Dressing or bathing
  • Difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions
  • Difficulty doing errands alone