APA Finds Domestic Violence is Women’s Main Concern
Ninety-two percent of American women rank domestic and sexual violence as one of their top priorities. One out of every three women experiences at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood, according to a 1996 study by the American Psychological Association.

* Nearly 1 in 3 adult women experience at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood.
(American Psychological Association. Violence and the Family: Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, 1996)
* While women are less likely than men to be victims of violent crimes overall, women are 5 to 8 times more likely than men to be victimized by an intimate partner.
(Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, U.S. Department of Justice, 1998)
* In 1998, at the hands of intimate partners, women experienced approximately 900,000 violent offenses and men experienced 160,000 violent offenses.
(Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. U.S. Department of Justice, 2000)
* Each year, medical expenses from domestic violence total at least $3 to $5 billion. Businesses lose another $100 million in lost wages, sick leave, absenteeism, and non-productivity.
(Stark and Flitcraft, 1995)
* Nearly one-third of all women murdered in the United States in 1998 were killed by a current or former intimate partner; guns were used in almost two-thirds of these homicides.
(Homicide Trends in the U.S., Violence Policy Center, 2001)
* 37% of all women who sought emergency room treatment for violence-related injuries were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend.
(U.S. Department of Justice, 1998)
* More than one-half of homeless families identified domestic violence as a primary cause of their homelessness.
(The United States Conference of Mayors, A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in American Cities, 1999)
* Each year, an estimated 3.3 million children witness their mothers or female caretakers being abused.
(American Psychological Association. Violence and the Family: Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, 1996)
* 40% of teenage girls aged 14 to 17 have reported knowing someone their age that has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.
(Children Now/Kaiser Permanente Poll, 1995)
* Every day, at least three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.
(Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. U.S. Department of Justice, 2000)