Myths & Facts

  • Myth: Domestic Violence only affects certain kinds of people.
    Facts:
    Around the world, at least one in every three women has been physically or sexually abused during her lifetime.1
  • Domestic violence is primarily a crime against women; however, men can be abused as well. In 2001, women accounted for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence and men accounted for approximately 15%.2 Gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons are just as likely as heterosexual women to be abused by their partner.3
  • Intimate partner violence affects people of all ages.4 Women 16 to 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence; approximately one in five female high school students’ reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.5 Nearly 6% of couples 60 and older experienced physical violence in their relationship within the past year, and of these, 40% reported the first violent incident occurred at least 25 years ago.6
  • Intimate partner violence affects people of all races, from all cultures, countries, and religions. 7

    Myth: Domestic violence is just a push, slap, or punch. It does not produce serious injuries.
    Facts:
  • On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner. 8
  • 37% of women who sought treatment in emergency rooms for violence-related injuries in 1994 were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend. 9
  • Firearms were the major weapon type used in intimate partner homicides from 1981 to 1998. 10
  • Physical and sexual dating violence against adolescent girls is associated with increased risk of substance use, unhealthy weight control behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, pregnancy, and suicidality. 11


Myth: Battering is a momentary loss of temper.
Facts:

  • Domestic violence is defined as a pattern of assaultive and coercive behaviors, including physical, sexual, and psychological attacks, as well as economic coercion. 12
  • 65% of women physically assaulted by an intimate partner report having been assaulted multiple times by the same partner. 13
  • 75% of intimate partner femicides reviewed in a recent study were preceded by one or more incidents of stalking within a year of the crime. 14

Myth: Domestic violence is a private family matter; it does not have anything to do with work.
Facts:

  • Severe intimate partner violence may result in the need for medical attention, taking time off from work, and suffering from stress and depression. 15
  • Unemployment and drug or alcohol use by the abuser is associated with increased risk for physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse for the victim. 16
  • The costs of domestic violence to society are high; intimate partner rape, physical assault, and stalking include $0.9 billion in lost productivity from paid work and household chores for victims of nonfatal intimate partner violence. 17


Myth: It is easy for victims of domestic violence to leave their abusers.
Facts:

  • One third of homeless families seeking emergency shelter are turned away and in one recent survey of US cities, domestic violence was found to be the primary cause of homelessness more that half the time. 18
  • Victims of domestic violence are often prevented from getting or keeping jobs by their abusers19 , and many victims who leave their abusers face poverty, unemployment, and homelessness as a result of leaving. 20

Myth: Children are not affected when one parent abuses another.
Facts:

  • Each year, thousands of American children witness violence in their homes. Witnessing violence is a risk factor for long-term physical and mental health problems, substance abuse, and the possibility of becoming a victim or perpetrator of violence.21 Witnessing family violence can be more traumatic than witnessing street violence, because those involved are people the child loves and depends on. 22
  • 40% to 60% of men who abuse women also abuse their children, and fathers who batter are twice as likely as non-abusive fathers to seek sole custody of their children. 23


1. Heis, L., Ellsberg, M., and Gottemoeller, M. (1999, December). Ending Violence Against Women, Population Reports, Series 1, No. 11.
2. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2003). Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001 Crime Data Brief (NCj 197838). Washington , DC ; Rennison, C.A. Greenwood G.I., Relf M.V., et.al.
3. Battering Victimization Among a Probability-Based Sample of Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM).American Journal of Public Health, 92,1964-1968. National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (1998). Annual Report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Domestic Violence.
4. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2000). Intimate Partner Violence ( NCj 178247). Washington , DC . Rennison , C.A. Welchans, S. Silverman, J, Rak. A.Mucci, L. Hathaway, J.
5. Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy and Suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association,,286,572-579.
6. Harris, S. (1996). For Better of for Worse: Spouse Abuse Grown Old. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect 8 (1), 1-33.
7. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics (1995). Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey (NCj 154348). Bachman, R., Saltzman, L.
8. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics (2003). Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001 Crime Data Brief (NCj 197838). Washington , DC ; Rennison, C.A. Greenwood G.I., Relf M.V., et.al.
9. Department of Justice, (1997). Violence Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments (NCj 156921). Rand , M.
10. Paulozzi, L.J., Saltzman LA. , et.al. (2001). Surveillance For Homicide Among Intimate Partners- United States, 1981-1998. CDC Surveillance Summaries, 50(SS-3): 1-16.
11. Silverman, J., Raj,A., Mucci, L. Hathaway, J. (2001). Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy and Suicidality. Journal of the American medical Association, 286,572-579.
12. Ganley, A.L. (1996). Understanding Domestic Violence. Improving the Healthcare Response to Domestic Violence- A Resource Manual for Healthcare Providers (2 nd ed.). San Francisco : The Family Violence Prevention Fund.
13. United States National Institute for Justice. Centers for Disease Control (2000). Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence (NCJ181867). Washington , DC : Tjaden, P., Thoennes, N.
14. Campbell, J., Wilt, S., et. Al. (1999). Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide. Homicide Studies, 3(4).
15. Crowell, N. A., Burgess, A.W., Eds. (1996). Understanding Violence Against Women. Washington , DC : National Research Council: National Academy Press.
16. Coker, A. L., Smith, P.H., et cal. (2000) Frequency and Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence by Type: Physical Sexual, and Psychological Battering. American Journal of Public Health 90(4), 553-9.
17. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Centers for Disease Control. (2003). Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States . Atlanta (GA): Arias, I. , Bardwell,R., et. al.
18. The United States Conference of Mayors, A Status Reports on Hunger and Homelessness in America 's Cities: 1999. (1999,December).
19. Browne, A., Bassuk, S. (1997). Intimate Violence in the Lives of Homeless and Poor Housed Women: Prevalence and Patterns in an Ethnically Diverse Sample. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67(2), 261-278
20. Browne, A. (1998). Responding to the Needs of Low Income and Homeless Women Who are Survivors of Family Violence. Journal of the American Medical Association, 53 (2), 57-64.
21. Felitti, V., Anda, R., et al. (1998). Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14 (4): 245-58.
22. McAlister, G. (1995, January). How Does Exposure to Violence Affect Very Young Children? Harvard Mental Health Letter, 11(7),8.
23. American Psychological Association, (1996). Report of the American Psychological Associaton Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family 40