Physical (Violent) Abuse

Physical abuse is the use of physical force against another person in a way that ends up injuring the person, or puts the person at risk of being injured. Physical abuse ranges from physical restraint to murder. Physical assault or physical battering is a crime, whether it occurs inside a family or outside the family. The police are empowered to protect you from physical attack.

Any intentional unwanted contact with the victim's body by either the abuser or an object within the abuser's control; physical abuse does not have to leave a mark or bruise; any intentional, unwanted, offensive contact is abuse. Physical (Violent) Abuse includes (but is not limited to): pushing, shoving, throwing, kicking; slapping, grabbing, hitting, punching, beating, tripping, battering, bruising, choking, shaking; pinching, scratching, biting, pulling hair; holding, restraining, confinement, tying partner up, locking their partner in a room; breaking bones; assault with a weapon such as as knife or gun; forcing the ingestion of an unwanted substance; burning; murder

The results of abuse are far-reaching and long-lasting. A victim abused by a spouse or intimate partner may develop sleeping problems, depression, anxiety attacks, low self-esteem, lack of trust in others, feelings of abandonment, anger, sensitivity to rejection, diminished mental and physical health, inability to work, poor relationships with their children and other loved ones and/or difficulty establishing intimate personal relationships, substance abuse as a way of coping, becoming an abusive parent or caregiver; physical abuse may result in death, if the victim does not - or does - leave the relationship. Children who witness domestic abuse may develop serious emotional, behavioral, developmental, or academic problems. As children, they may become violent themselves, or adopt the abusive behaviors they witness, or withdraw. Some children act out, others try to be the perfect child; they often become depressed and have low self-esteem. As they develop, children and teens who grow up with domestic abuse in the household are more likely to use violence at school or in the community in response to perceived threats, attempt suicide, use drugs, commit crimes (especially sexual assault), use violence or abusive methods to enhance their reputation and self-esteem, and are more likely to become abusers in their own relationships later in life.

Statistics on Physical Abuse / Domestic Violence

Two-thirds of violent victimizations against women were committed by someone known to them: 31% of female victims reported that the offender was a stranger. Approximately 28% were intimates such as husbands or boyfriends, 35% were acquaintances, and the remaining 5% were other relatives. (In contrast, victimizations by intimates and other relatives accounted for only 5% of all violent victimizations against men. Men were significantly more likely to have been victimized by acquaintances (50%) or strangers (44%) than by intimates or other relatives.)

Annually, compared to males, females experienced over 10 times as many incidents of violence by an intimate. On average each year, women experienced 572,032 violent victimizations at the hands of an intimate, compared to 48,983 incidents committed against men.

Estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend each year to 4 million women who are physically abused by their husbands or live-in partners each year.

Violence by an intimate partner accounts for about 21% of violent crime experienced by women and about 2 % of the violence experienced by men.

31,260 women were murdered by an intimate from 1976-1996.

Females accounted for 39% of the hospital emergency department visits for violence-related injuries in 1994 but 84% of the persons treated for injuries inflicted by intimates.

Nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.

Each year, medical expenses from domestic violence total at least $3 to $5 billion. Businesses forfeit another $100 million in lost wages, sick leave, absenteeism and non-productivity. .

Every year, domestic violence results in almost 100,000 days of hospitalizations, almost 30,000 emergency department visits, and almost 40,000 visits to a physician. .

Studies by the Surgeon General's office reveal that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44, more common than automobile accidents, muggings, and cancer deaths combined. Other research has found that half of all women will experience some form of violence from their partners during marriage, and that more than one-third are battered repeatedly every year.

Battered women seek medical attention for injuries sustained as a consequence of domestic violence significantly more often after separation than during cohabitation; about 75% of the visits to emergency rooms by battered women occur after separation

In 2003, among all female murder victims in the U.S., 30% were slain by their husbands or boyfriends.

Women who leave their batterers are at 75% greater risk of severe injury or death than those who stay.

A child exposed to the father abusing the mother is at the strongest risk for transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.

Husbands and boyfriends commit 13,000 acts of violence against women in the workplace every year.

Nearly one-third of American women (31%) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.

Thirty percent of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year.

37% of women who sought emergency room treatment for violence-related injuries in 1994 were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend.

26% of all female murder victims in 1995 were killed by their partners.

Approximately 1,830 murders in 1998 were attributed to intimates; nearly 75% of these had a female victim..

There were 691,710 nonfatal violent victimizations committed by current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends of the victims during 2001. Such crimes - intimate partner violence - primarily involve female victims. About 588,490, or 85% of victimizations by intimate partners in 2001 were against women.

Violence against women costs companies $727.8 million annually due to lost productivity.

45% of corporate leaders say someone close to them has been involved in violence against women.