Domestic Violence in America and in our Community

Domestic Violence in America and in our Community
The statistics are shocking. Everyday women are being beaten, terrorized and murdered at the hands of their husbands, boyfriends and ex-husbands, ¡§At least one woman is battered every 15 seconds¡¨ (FBI). To make matters worse, batterers often seek and gain custody of their children, even though the batterers often abuse their children as well as women. Our society has come a long way in understanding abuse and in addition the legal system has also improved its attitudes toward violence against women, but we still have a very long way to go.
The United States Surgeon General reports that domestic violence is the greatest single cause of injury among U.S. women, accounting for more emergency room visits than auto accidents, mugging and rape combined (Shupe). According to, The Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics Report, 95% of all documented domestic assault crimes are committed by men against women; in 1996 there were...