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Intimate Partner
Violence: Fact Sheet
OCCURRENCE
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Nearly 5.3
million intimate partner victimizations occur each year among U.S. women
ages 18 and older. This violence results in nearly 2 million injuries
and nearly 1,300 deaths (CDC
2003).
-
Estimates
indicate more than 1 million women and 371,000 men are stalked by
intimate partners each year (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000b).
-
Intimate
partner violence occurs across all populations, irrespective of social,
economic, religious, or cultural group. However, young women and those
below the poverty line are disproportionately affected (Heise and
Garcia-Moreno 2002).
-
Nearly 25%
of women have been raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate
partner at some point in their lives, and more than 40% of the women who
experience partner rapes and physical assaults sustain a physical injury
(Tjaden and Thoennes 2000b).
-
As many as
324,000 women each year experience IPV during their pregnancy
(Gazmararian et al. 2000).
-
Intimate
partner violence accounted for 20% of all nonfatal violent crime
experienced by women in 2001 (Rennison 2003).
-
Forty-four
percent of women murdered by their intimate partner had visited an
emergency department within 2 years of the homicide, 93% of whom had at
least one injury visit (Crandall et al. 2004).
-
Firearms
were the major weapon type used in intimate partner homicides from 1981
to 1998 (Paulozzi et al. 2001).
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CONSEQUENCES
Physical
-
Women with a
history of IPV report 60% higher rates of all health problems than do
women with no history of abuse (Campbell et al. 2002).
-
IPV victims
report lasting negative health problems, such as chronic pain,
gastrointestinal disorders, and irritable bowel syndrome, which can
interfere with or limit daily functioning (Heise and Garcia-Moreno
2002).
-
The more
severe the abuse, the greater its impact on a women’s physical and
mental health, resulting in a cumulative effect over time (Leserman et
al. 1996) (Koss, Koss and Woodruff 1991).
-
Intimate
partner violence also affects reproductive health and can lead to
gynecological disorders, unwanted pregnancy, premature labor and birth,
and sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS (Heise, Moore and
Toubia 1995).
-
IPV victims
have a higher prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, hysterectomy,
and heart or circulatory conditions (He et al. 1998).
Psychological
-
Adolescents
involved with an abusive partner report increased levels of depressed
mood, substance use, antisocial behavior, and, in females, suicidal
behavior (Roberts, Klein and Fisher 2003).
-
Abused girls
and women often experience adverse mental health conditions, such as
depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem (Mercy et al. 2003).
-
Women with a
history of IPV are more likely to display behaviors that present further
health risks, such as substance abuse, alcoholism, and increased risk of
suicide attempts (Coker et al. 2000).
Social
-
Researchers
report that children who witness IPV are at greater risk of developing
psychiatric disorders, developmental problems, school failure, violence
against others, and low self-esteem (Nelson et al. 2004).
-
Women in
violent relationships have been found to be restricted in the way they
gain access to services, take part in public life, and receive emotional
support from friends and relatives (Heise and Garcia-Moreno 2002).
Economic
-
The costs of
IPV against women exceed an estimated $5.8 billion. These costs include
nearly $4.1 billion in the direct costs of medical and mental health
care and nearly $1.8 billion in the indirect costs of lost productivity
(CDC
2003).
-
Victims of
IPV lose a total of nearly 8 million days of paid work—the equivalent of
more than 32,000 full-time jobs—and nearly 5.6 million days of household
productivity each year as a result of the violence (CDC
2003).
Lloyd and
Taluc (1999) found that women who experienced male-perpetrated IPV were
more likely to experience spells of unemployment, have health problems,
and be welfare recipients.
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GROUPS VULNERABLE TO VICTIMIZATION
-
Both men and
women experience IPV. However, women are 2 to 3 times more likely to
report an intimate partner pushed grabbed or shoved them and 7 to 14
times more likely to report an intimate partner beat them up, choked
them, or tied them down (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000a).
-
American
Indian/Alaska Native women and men report more violent victimization
than do women and men of other racial backgrounds (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000b).
-
In the
United States, researchers estimate that 40% to 70% of female murder
victims were killed by their husbands or boyfriends, frequently in the
context of an ongoing abusive relationship (Bailey et al.
1997).
-
In a survey
of boys and girls ages 8 to 12 years, girls cited concerns about IPV
while boys did not consider IPV an issue (Sheehan, Kim and Galvin
2004).
-
Hispanic
women are more likely than non-Hispanic women to report instances of
intimate partner rape (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000a).
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RISK
FACTORS FOR PERPETRATION
A combination
of individual, relational, community, and societal factors contribute to
the risk of perpetrating IPV. To understand and prevent IPV, it is
important to understand and identify these risk factors. A risk factor is
anything that increases the likelihood that a person will perpetrate IPV.
However, risk factors are not necessarily causes and not everyone who is
identified as "at-risk" becomes involved in violence.
Risk factors
exist at each level of the social ecology, which contribute to IPV
perpetration. At the individual level, risk factors include attitudes and
beliefs; at the relational level, risk factors include interpersonal and
verbal interactions and family/relationship norms. At the community level
and the larger societal level, risk factors include social norms and
institutional structures, policies, and procedures.
Individual Factors for Perpetrating IPV
Recent
research reviews of male perpetrators link several risk factors to IPV
(Black et al. 1999; Harway and O’Neil 1999):
- Young age
- Low self-esteem
- Low income
- Low academic achievement
- Involvement in aggressive or delinquent behavior as
a youth
- Alcohol use
- Drug use
- Witnessing or experiencing violence as a
child
- Lack of social networks and social isolation
- Unemployment
Relationship Factors for Perpetrating IPV
Recent
research reviews link several relational risk factors to IPV
perpetration (Heise and Garcia-Moreno 2002; Kantor and Jasinski 1998;
Harway and O’Neil 1999):
- Marital conflict
- Marital instability
- Male dominance in the family
- Poor family functioning
- Emotional dependence and insecurity
- Belief in strict gender roles
- Desire for power and control in
relationships
- Exhibiting anger and hostility toward a
partner
Community Factors for Perpetrating IPV
Recent
research reviews link several community risk factors to perpetrating
IPV (Heise and Garcia-Moreno 2002; Counts, Brown and Campbell
1992):
- Poverty
- Low social capital
- Factors associated with poverty such as
overcrowding, hopelessness, stress, frustration
- Weak sanctions against domestic violence
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VULNERABILITY FACTORS FOR VICITIMIZATION
To
understand and prevent IPV, it is important to understand and identify
vulnerability factors. A vulnerability factor is anything that increases
the likelihood that a person will experience IPV. However, vulnerability
factors are not necessarily causes and exist without the occurrence of
IPV. The following vulnerability factors increase the likelihood of
experiencing IPV:
Individual Factors Increasing Vulnerability to
IPV
Recent
research reviews identify several individual vulnerability factors
related to IPV (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000a; Crandall et al. 2004;
Rennison 2000):
- History of physical abuse
- Prior injury from the same partner
- Having a verbally abusive partner
- Economic stress
- Partner history of alcohol or drug abuse
- Childhood abuse
- Being under the age of 24
Relationship Factors Increasing Vulnerability to
IPV
Recent
research reviews identify several relational vulnerability factors
related to IPV (Heise and Garcia-Moreno 2002):
- Marital conflict
- Marital instability
- Male dominance in the family
- Poor family functioning
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REFERENCES
Bailey JE, et al. Risk
factors for violent death of women in the home. Archives of Internal
Medicine 1997;157:777–82.
Black DA, et al. Partner, child abuse
risk factor literature review: national network of family resiliency,
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Campbell J, Jones AS,
Dienemann J, Kub J, Schollenberger J, O’Campo P, et al. Intimate partner
violence and physical health consequences. Archives of Internal Medicine
2002;162(10):1157–63.
Campbell JC, Webster D, Koziol-McLain J,
Block C, Campbell D, Curry MA, et al. Risk factors for femicide in abusive
relationships: results from a multisite case control study. American
Journal of Public Health 2003;93(7):1089–97.
CDC. Costs of
intimate partner violence against women in the United States. Atlanta
(GA): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2003. Available
at http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/ipv_cost/ipv.htm.
Coker
AL, Amith PH, Bethea L, King MR, McKeown RE. Physical health consequence
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2000;9:451.
Counts DA, Brown J, Campbell J. Sanctions and
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Crandall M, Nathens AB, Kernic MA, Holt VL,
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Koss MP, Koss PG, Woodruff WJ. Deleterious
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