...domestic violence affects a large percentage of our community?

• According to the FBI, 1 out of every 4 women is a victim of domestic violence at least once in her lifetime.
• In 50% of the cases where men are assaulting their partners, they are also assaulting their children. The battered mother may be suffering from physical and psychological injuries to the point that she cannot meet the needs of her children appropriately. (Straus, M.A. & Gelles, R. J. (eds.) Physical Violence in American Families. New Brunswick, NJ. Transaction Publishers 1990.)
• Battering of women is the most under reported crime in America.
• According to the FBI, one woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds in the United States. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report to Nation on Crime and Justice. 10/83)

...battering is not just a momentary loss of temper.

• The Surgeon General of the United States reports that 1 out of 5 women battered by their partners have been victimized over and over again by the same person.
• The American Medical Association defines domestic violence as an ongoing, debilitating experience of physical, psychological, and/or sexual abuse.
• Domestic violence is a LEARNED BEHAVIOR. Most batterers learn violent behavior growing up in an abusive family. (When Violence Begins at Home by K. J. Wilson, 1997)

...domestic violence frequently produces serious injuries.

• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury for women age 15 to 44.
• More women are injured from domestic violence than rapes, muggings, and auto crashes combined. (Uniform Crime Reports, FBI, 1991)
• Michigan State Police statistics show that a Michigan woman is killed by a partner or former partner every 5 days.
• 25-45% of all women who are battered are battered during pregnancy.

....leaving an abusive relationship is not easy.

• A study by the United States Department of Justice states that the most dangerous time for a woman who is being battered is when she leaves the abuser. (Barbara Hart, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1988)
• In the United States, 75% of the women who are killed by their partners are murdered after the relationship is over or as it ends. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice, 1988)