Prevent Domestic Violence in Your Community

"Intimate partner violence is a serious public health problem that affects millions of Americans.

Intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence, is abuse or aggression that occurs in a romantic relationship.

• • An intimate partner can be a current or former spouse or a dating partner.
  • This type of violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples and does not require sexual intimacy.
  • Intimate partner violence might happen one time or happen many times over a period of years.

Intimate Partner Violence Is Common

• About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime and reported at least one impact of the violence (like being concerned for their safety).
• Over 43 million women and about 38 million men experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime
• See more data from CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS).

Intimate Partner Violence Starts Early

Teen dating violence is a risk factor for intimate partner violence in adulthood. CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that among students who reported dating:

• About 1 in 12 students experienced physical dating violence, and about 1 in 12 experienced sexual dating violence in the last year.
• Female students; lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) students; and students not sure of their sexual identity had the highest reports of any and both forms of dating violence (i.e., sexual and physical dating violence).
  • More than 16% of female students experienced dating violence compared to 8% of male students.
  • 22% of LGB students and nearly 19% of students who were not sure of their sexual identity experienced dating violence compared to nearly 11% of heterosexual students..."
    Intimate partners domestic violence 

Prevent Domestic Violence in Your Community

"Intimate partner violence is a serious public health problem that affects millions of Americans.

Intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence, is abuse or aggression that occurs in a close relationship.

• • An Intimate partner can be a current or former spouse or a dating partner.
  • This type of violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples and does not require sexual intimacy.
  • Intimate partner violence might happen one time or happen many times over a period of years.

Intimate Partner Violence Is Common

• About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime and reported at least one impact of the violence (like being concerned for their safety).
• Over 43 million women and about 38 million men experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime
• See more data from CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS)..."
  Domestic violence

Guidance on Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias in Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence

"Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced today a new guidance from the Justice Department designed to help law enforcement agencies prevent gender bias in their response to sexual assault and domestic violence, highlighting the need for clear policies, robust training and responsive accountability systems.

“Gender bias, whether explicit or implicit, can severely undermine law enforcement’s ability to protect survivors of sexual and domestic violence and hold offenders accountable,” said Attorney General Lynch.  “This guidance – developed in collaboration with law enforcement leaders and advocates from across the country – is designed to help state, local, and tribal authorities more fairly and effectively address allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault.  In the days and months ahead, the Department of Justice will continue to work with our law enforcement partners nationwide to ensure that they have the tools and resources they need to prevent, investigate, and prosecute these horrendous crimes.”

Today’s guidance – which reflects input from a wide array of stakeholders, including police leaders, victim advocates and civil rights advocates – aims to enhance the Justice Department’s partnership with law enforcement officers who work tirelessly to protect their communities, advance bias-free policing and uphold the civil rights of the people they serve.  The Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), the Civil Rights Division and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) collaborated to produce the guidance...."
Identifying & preventing gender bias

The Violence Against Women Act: Overview, Legislation, and Federal Funding

"The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has been of ongoing interest to Congress since its enactment in 1994 (P.L. 103-322). The original act was intended to change attitudes toward domestic violence, foster awareness of domestic violence, improve services and provisions for victims, and revise the manner in which the criminal justice system responds to domestic violence and sex crimes. The legislation created new programs within the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) that aimed to reduce domestic violence and improve response to and recovery from domestic violence incidents. VAWA primarily addresses certain types of violent crime through grant programs to state, tribal, and local governments; nonprofit organizations; and universities. VAWA programs target the crimes of intimate partner violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking..."
Violence Against Women

Domestic violence(U.S. Justice Dept)

"We define domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner.  Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone..."
Domestic-violence

How Can I Help End Domestic Violence?

"Domestic violence not only affects those who are abused, but also has a substantial effect on family members, friends, coworkers, other witnesses, and the community at large. Children who grow up witnessing domestic violence are among those seriously affected by this crime. You can help break this cycle of violence by raising awareness of the effect domestic violence has on every community, every work place, and every school..."

Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Oct.2011

Tips from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women on addressing domestic violence.