DVStats

· In 2000, there were more than 615 Texas law enforcement officers assaulted during the course of reported family
violence incidents. Texas Department of Public Safety

· The most common weapon involved in family violence cases in 2000 in Texas was physical force through the use of
hands, feet and fists. That accounted for 77% of all family violence incidents. –Texas Department of Public Safety

· Of all the women killed in 1997 in Texas, 35% were murdered by their intimate male partners. This is higher than the
national average of 28% reported by the FBI. –Texas Department of Public Safety.

National Prevalence
· Approximately 1.5 million women are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year in the United
States. – National Institute of Justice, July 2000.

· 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. –Commonwealth Fund survey, 1998

· Family violence costs the nation from $5 to $10 billion annually in medical expenses, police and court costs, shelters
and foster care, sick leave, absenteeism, and non-productivity. – Medical News, American Medical Association, January,
1992

· 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, March, 1998

· Violence by an intimate partner accounts for about 21% of violent crime experienced by women and about 2 % of the
violence experienced by men. – Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses,
Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, U.S. Department of Justice, March, 1998

· In 92% of all domestic violence incidents, crimes are committed by men against women. – Violence Against Women,
Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, January, 1994

· Of women who reported being raped and/or physically assaulted since the age of 18, three quarters (76 percent) were
victimized by a current or former husband, cohabitating partner, date or boyfriend. – Prevalence Incidence, and
Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, U.S.
Department of Justice, November, 1998

· The majority of welfare recipients have experienced domestic abuse in their adult lives and a high percentage are
currently abused. – Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between
Domestic Violence and Welfare, The Taylor Institute, April, 1997

Race
· Domestic violence is statistically consistent across racial and ethnic boundaries. –Bureau of Justice Statistics Special
Report: Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey (NCJ-154348), August 1995, p.3.

Intimate Partner Violence
· Women age 16 to 24 are most vulnerable to intimate partner violence. -U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS).

Stalking
· It is estimated that 503,485 women are stalked by an intimate partner each year in the United States. – National Institute
of Justice, July 2000

Domestic Violence and the Workplace
· Husbands and boyfriends commit 13,000 acts of violence against women in the workplace every year. – Violence and
Theft in the Workplace, U.S. Department of Justice, July 1994

Teen Dating Violence
· One in five adolescent girls will be physically and/or sexually abused in a dating relationship. -Journal of the American
Medical Association, August 2001

· Physical and sexual abuse against adolescent girls in dating relationships increases the likelihood that the girl will abuse
drugs and/or alcohol, develop an eating disorder, consider and/or attempt suicide, engage in risky sexual behavior
and/or become pregnant. - Journal of the American Medical Association, August 2001

Children
· A child’s exposure to the father abusing the mother is the strongest risk factor for transmitting violent behavior from one
generation to the next. –American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, APA,
1996

· Forty percent of teenage girls age 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a
boyfriend. –Children Now/Kaiser Permanente poll, December 1995

· Studies show that child abuse occurs in 30-60% of family violence cases that involve families with children. – "The
overlap between child maltreatment and woman battering." J.L. Edleson, Violence Against Women, February, 1999

Same-sex Battering
· The prevalence of domestic violence among Gay and Lesbian couples is approximately 25-33%. –Barnes, ‘It’s Just a
Quarrel’, American Bar Association Journal, February 1998, p.25.
Recidivism
· Six months after obtaining a protection order: 8% of victims reported post-order physical abuse; 26% reported
respondent came to or called their home or workplace; 65% reported no further problems. –CPOs: the Benefits and
Limitations for Victims of Domestic Violence, National Center for State Courts Research Report, 1997

Below are some findings from a 2002 statewide poll conducted by the Texas Council on Family Violence:
74% of all Texans have either themselves, a family member and/or a friend have experienced some form of domestic
violence.

47% of all Texans report having personally experienced at least one form of domestic violence, either severe, verbal
and/or forced isolation from friends and family at some point in their lifetime.

73% of all Texans believe that domestic violence is a serious problem in Texas.

78% of all Texans said they would be more likely to vote for a political candidate who helped victims of domestic violence.

Latinos in Texas
77% of all Latinos in Texas indicate that either themselves, a family member and/or a friend have experienced some form
of domestic violence. Indicating that approximately

64% of all Latinos in Texas indicate that they or a member of their family have experienced at least one form of domestic
violence in their lifetime.

40% of Latinos in Texas who reported experiencing at least one form of domestic violence took no action.

86% of all Latinos in Texas report that they would vote for a candidate who helps domestic violence victims. They are the
ethnic group most likely to indicate such.