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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:A National Epidemic
By Sharon Cammack and Patrice Pujol
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. First ob-served in 1987, the month now promotes and sponsors a range of activities, observances and events conducted on local, state and national levels with common themes: remembering those who died because of domestic violence, honoring those who have survived the violence, and bringing together those who work tirelessly to end the cycle of domestic violence.1
Domestic violence is a pattern of violent and coercive behavior exerted by one adult in an intimate relationship over another. It is not a lover’s quarrel, or a marital conflict, or an argument that has gotten out of control. It is about power. It is about controlling an intimate partner through the use of physical, verbal and emotional abuse. It is rarely a one-time event, but instead represents a pattern or cycle of violence. It very often consists of repeated, severe beatings and/or strict control enforced through verbal threats, emotional blackmail, and swift, harsh physical punishment.2 Within six months following an episode of violence, 32 percent of battered women are once again victimized.3 Moreover, 47 percent of men who physically abuse their wives repeat the abuse at least three times each year.4 And for 30 percent of women who experience abuse, the first incident occurs during pregnancy.5
The Categories of Domestic Violence
There are four basic categories of domestic violence:
Physical Assault - This category in-cludes shoving, pushing, restraining, hitting or kicking. The frequency of physical assault within an intimate relationship varies greatly.6 However, more often than not, the assaults will escalate in both frequency and severity over the course of the relationship.
Sexual Assault - Sexual assault occurs any time one partner forces sexual acts that are unwanted by the other partner. Simply because the partners are married does not change the fact that using such force constitutes domestic violence.
Psychological Assault - Generally, this category of domestic violence involves isolation from family and friends, forced financial dependence, verbal and emotional abuse, threats, intimidation, and control over where the partner can go, who they can see, or even what he/she can wear. An abuser may sabotage his/her partner’s attempts to get or keep a job. Common tactics include calling the office constantly7, disabling the victim’s car, stealing the victim’s uniform or work clothes, and starting fights immediately before school or work.
Attacks Against Property and Children - This category includes the destruction of property, particularly household goods, treasured family heirlooms, or any item of sentimental value belonging to the targeted partner. It may also manifest itself through the punching or kicking of walls, slashing the partner’s clothes, injuring or killing beloved pets, and even killing the couple’s own children.8
The Victims of Domestic Violence
The national statistics for domestic violence occurrences are staggering. On a daily average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.9 In 1999, intimate partners committed 1,642 murders; of these, 74 percent of the victims were women.10 In 2000, an intimate partner killed 1,247 women and 440 men.11 In 2001, intimate partner violence by current or former spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends occurred nearly 700,000 times.12 Subsequent years reflect similar numbers. Eighty-five percent of these victims are women.13 These statistics represent only reported incidents and do not include recurring incidents or multiple victimizations.14
Approximately one in five women is victimized repeatedly.15 The net result of this violence is that over 140,000 of the 700,000 annual victims are subjected to repeated attacks.16 In addition, national estimates for 2000 revealed 503,485 women were stalked by an intimate partner.17
Despite the overwhelming nature of these statistics, the national figures show a slight decline in domestic violence over the last 10 years. In 1993, men were the victims in approximately 162,870 violent crimes involving a domestic partner.18 By 2001, this figure fell to an estimated 103,220 crimes.19
Intimate partner violence against women also declined from 1993 to 2001. In 1993, women were victimized in approximately 1.1 million non-fatal violent crimes.20 By 2001, this figure declined to a still shocking 588,490 incidents of intimate partner violence.21
Texas alone recorded over 180,000 incidents of family violence and over 11,000 adults who sought shelter from their abusive relationships in 2002.22 In addition, 31 percent of Texans reported that they had been victims of severe abuse, with women reporting severe abuse at a higher rate than men.23 In Houston, there were nearly 21,000 reported incidents of domestic violence in 2001.24 That same year, 15 Houston women were killed by their intimate partners.25 Statewide, domestic violence cost Texas taxpayers more than $21 million for family violence services provided by the Texas Department of Human Services.26 This figure does not include the cost of medical treatment for the victim or the costs associated with policing, prosecuting or incarcerating the perpetrator.27
Domestic violence is not isolated to the poor or uneducated of our society. It is not confined to any ethnic or religious group.28 And it is not directed only against a wife by her husband. Domestic violence occurs in any type of intimate relationship: married, divorced, separated, heterosexual, gay, lesbian, transgendered, and even in dating relationships. Domestic violence does not discriminate. While the majority of its victims are adult women, domestic violence targets men, the elderly, and teenagers.29
Male Victims ~
Male victims of domestic violence account for 15 percent nationally, which in the year 2000, translated as 440 men killed by their intimate partner.30 In Texas in 2003, 25 percent of all domestic violence incidents involved male victims.31 In 2002, 24 percent of all Texas domestic violence incidents involved male victims.32
Despite these surprising numbers, state and federal agencies and law enforcement are concerned that an unusually large number of domestic violence incidences involving male victims go unreported. This under-reporting may be due to several factors. Among other things, men are more reluctant to characterize themselves as victims due to cultural and familial pressures. Victimization implies a weakness that men in our social structure are typically embarrassed to face. In almost every community, there are less social services and resources available for male victims of domestic violence.
Victims Within Same-Sex Couples ~
Domestic violence among same-sex couples occurs with the same statistical frequency as those found among heterosexual couples.33 But all too often, gay or lesbian victims receive fewer legal and societal protections. In fact, several states reportedly define domestic violence to specifically exclude same-sex victims.34 Furthermore, shelters across the country have denied access and services to domestic violence victims whose abusers are same-sex partners.35 Batterers in same-sex relationships use the same tactics of physical, emotional and psychological abuse found in heterosexual relationships.36 However, included in the abusers arsenal is the added threat of “outing” their partner to family, friends, co-workers and employers.37
Elderly Victims ~
Domestic violence has found its way into the elderly population. Findings from the National Elder Abuse Incidence Study reports that more than 500,000 Americans aged 60 and over were victims of domestic abuse in 1996, while the Senate Special Committee on Aging estimates that there may be as many as five million victims every year.38 The National Elder Abuse Study also found that a meager 16 percent of the abusive situations are referred for help, which leaves a whopping 84 percent of these incidents hidden.39 Other studies estimate that domestic violence strikes three to five percent of the national elderly population.40 Sadly, studies indicate that domestic violence among the elderly is on the rise.41
However, legislation targeting domestic violence among the elderly is also on the rise. For example, all states have adult protective and long-term care ombudsman programs.42 At the federal level, the Elder Justice Act (Senate Bill 333) has been proposed to provide federal leadership to reduce elder abuse.43 This legislation is designed to increase the amount of federal dollars spent on domestic violence specific to the elderly community.44
Victims in the Immigrant Population ~
Domestic violence is believed to be more prevalent among immigrant women than among female citizens in the United States.45 The reasons for this are varied. It may be that they come from a culture in which domestic violence is accepted, or it may be that the female immigrant believes that she has little or no access to legal or social services.46 Additionally, her immigration status may be dependant upon the abusive spouse, or she may be isolated by cultural mores that prevent her from leaving the abusive spouse or seeking outside assistance.47 Finally, her immigration status may preclude her from seeking employment.48
Violence in the Dating Relationship ~
Dating violence is the precursor to domestic violence and exhibits the same type of abusive behaviors and dynamics as that found within domestic violence. Statistically, 20 percent of women in dating couples are victims of some form of domestic violence.49 While admittedly disturbing, these numbers shouldn’t be surprising. It’s simply unrealistic to think that the dynamics of violence never emerge until after a couple lives together or marries.
Further perpetuating the cycle, this type of intimate partner violence is, unfortunately, often overlooked, as many elements of society continue to label such behavior as “boys being boys.” On average, about one of every five female high schoolers reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.50 Moreover, abused girls are considerably more likely to participate in risky behavior. For example, these girls are four to six times more likely to get pregnant.51 In addition, abused girls are eight to nine times more likely to attempt suicide.52
Domestic Violence Perpetrators
Ironically, batterers, just like their victims, do not fall into specific categories. They come from rich families, poor families and middle class families. Batterers are found among the educated as well as the uneducated. They are professionals and they are day laborers. They are not limited to any particular ethnicity or religion. To the outside world, the batterer often appears to be a good father, a devoted and attentive husband, an outstanding member of the community, or even a devoted attendee of religious services.
While it is impossible to predict who will be an abuser, there are a variety of factors that increase the risk of domestic violence within an intimate relationship. The single most reliable indicator is a prior history of violence. Beyond that, the factors include the following:
• at least one partner has committed child abuse before the beginning of this relationship;
• at least one partner has not finished high school;
• at least one partner is a blue-collared worker53;
• at least one partner is between the ages of 18 and 30;
• at least one partner is unemployed54;
• each partner has a different religion;
• at least one partner has a problem with substance abuse55;
• the couple lives together, but is not married;
• poor living conditions56; and
• the male partner witnessed his father hit his mother.57
With the presentation of two of these factors, the risk of domestic violence doubles. Each additional factor increases the likelihood that one of the partners is at risk of becoming a victim of domestic violence.
The causes of domestic violence are speculative and numerous. However, one of the most widely held theories is that children who grow up in violent homes duplicate the same bad behavior as adults.58 Violence in any form is a learned behavior. That behavior, cultivated in childhood, is both compelling and influential and, thus, is the most difficult type of behavior to change. Though not every person who grows up in a violent home becomes a batterer or a victim, statistics prove that growing up in a family where violence is common, acceptable behavior increases the risk of future abuse.59
In response to the domestic violence epidemic, many people ask, “Why doesn’t he/she just leave?” This response ignores the economic and social realities facing many victims, particularly women and the elderly. Unfortunately, family, friends and co-workers are often less than supportive, preferring not to get involved in what they perceive to be a “private matter.” Faced with deposits for rent and utilities, day care costs, car payments, insurance and other basic expenses, many victims doubt their ability to support themselves and their children. Furthermore, not every community provides shelters and where they do exist, they are often full. For many community shelters, funding is often limited and poorly paid staff may be few. More frightening is the knowledge that the risk of serious physical harm to the victim increases when the victim leaves the abusive partner.
Conclusion
Domestic abuse remains an epidemic. It is impossible to discount the impact on children witnessing emotional and physical abuse within their own home. The psychological and emotional scars left by abuse are immeasurable. These scars are also worn by society as a whole, in the area of violence in the workplace60, violence in our schools and higher medical costs.
Community involvement in the form of advocacy, support and education is a critical element in the effort to stop the cycle of abuse. In addition, a responsive law enforcement team is essential for intervening and protecting victims of domestic violence. The stereotypical “it’s just a family matter” must be put to rest. Finally, the legal system must facilitate change through the creation of laws and statutes protecting all victims of intimate partner violence, requiring serious consequences for violations, and providing a responsive court system empowering the victims. Without intervention, families in all their many forms remain trapped in the cycle, each generation passing the legacy of domestic violence to the next.
Endotes
1. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” available at http://www.ncadv.org/community/dvamonth.htm (briefly describes history of domestic violence awareness month). 2. These and other myths about domestic violence are discussed on several websites and in enumerable studies. See, e.g., American Bar Association, Commission on Domestic Violence, “Myths and Facts About Domestic Violence,” available at http// www.abanet.org/domviol/myths.html. 3. P. A. Langan and C. A. Innes, Preventing Domestic Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, U.S. Department of Justice (1986). 4. American Medical Association, Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines on Domestic Violence, (1994) SEC: 94-677:3M: 9/94 (1994). 5. See A. S. Helton, et al., Battered and Pregnant: A Prevalence Study, 77 Am. J. Public Health 1337-39 (1987). 6. Patricia Tjaden and Nancy Thoennes, Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey (Nov. 2000), NJC 183781 (indicating that about 1.5 million women and 834,700 men are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year), available at http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ nij/183781.pdf. 7. Generally speaking, abusive intimate partners harass 74 percent of battered women at work, either in person or over the telephone, which results in tardiness, loss of production, and eventually termination in 20 percent of the cases. Joan Zorza, Women Battering: A Major Cause of Homelessness, 25 Clearinghouse Rev. 421-24 (1991). 8. For example, on May 2, 2001, John Battaglia, who had a history of assaulting his ex-wife, murdered his two daughters, ages 9 and 6, while his ex-wife was on the phone with him. Officers who responded to the gunshots found both girls shot to death on the floor of Battaglia’s apartment. Accountant Held in Shooting Death of Two Daughters, Hou. Chron. May 4, 2001, at A33. A few days short of the one-year anniversary of the slayings, a Texas jury convicted Battaglia of capital murder and sentenced him to death by lethal injection. Death Sentence for Children’s Dad, Hou. Chron. May 1, 2002, at A22. 9. Callie Marie Rennison, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-99 (Oct. 2001; revised Nov. 28, 2001), NJC 187635, available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ipva99.pdf. 10. Id. 11. Callie Marie Rennison, Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief: Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001 (Feb. 2003), NCJ 197838, available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ bjs/pub/pdf/ipv01.pdf. 12. Id. 13. Id. 14. Id. See Lawrence W. Sherman, Defiance, Deterrence, and Irrelevance: A Theory of the Criminal Sanction, 30 J. Res. Crime & Delinq. 445, 463 (1993) (stating that among domestic violence victims who reported the incident to police, the victims’ batterers were 36 percent more likely to be reported within six months for abusing the same victim). 15. Rennison, NCJ 197838 (see footnote 9, supra). 16. Id. 17. Patricia Tjaden and Nancy Thoennes, Extent, Nature and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence (July 2000), NJC 181867, available at http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/181867.pdf. 18. Rennison, NCJ 197838 (see footnote 9, supra). 19. Id. 20. Id. 21. Id. 22. Texas Department of Public Safety, 2003 Crime in Texas: The Texas Crime Report at 48 (2003), available at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/crimereports/citindex.htm. 23. Texas Council on Family Violence, “Abuse in Texas,” available at http://www.tcfv.org/abuse_in_texas.htm. 24. Houston Area Women’s Center, “Statistics: Local,” available at http://www.hawc.org/statistics.htm. 25. Id. 26. Texas Department of Human Services, 2002 DHS Annual Report, at 103, available at http://www.dhs.state.tx.us/publications/AnnualReport/2002/2002_AR_Stats.pdf. 27. Id. 28. Ronet Bachman and Linda E. Saltzman, Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey (Aug. 1995), NCJ 154348, at 3 (stating that statistics on domestic violence are consistent across all races and ethnicities); available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/femvied.txt. 29. Texas Council on Family Violence, “Abuse in Texas,” available at http://www.tcfv.org/abuse_in_texas.htm. 30. Rennison, NCJ 197838 (see footnote 11, supra). See Tjaden and Thoennes, NJC 183781 (see footnote 6, supra) (indicating that about 834,700 men are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year). 31. Texas Department of Public Safety, 2003 Crime in Texas: The Texas Crime Report at 48 (2003), available at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/crimereports/citindex.htm. 32. Texas Department of Public Safety, 2002 Crime in Texas: The Texas Crime Report at 48 (2002), available at http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/crimereports/citindex.htm. 33. Patricia G. Barnes, It’s Just a Quarrel: Some States Offer No Domestic Violence Protection to Gays, 84 A.B.A.J. 24, 25 (indicating that 25 to 33 percent of gay and lesbian couples experience some form of domestic violence). See also Nancy E. Murphy, Note, Queer Justice: Equal Protection for Victims of Same-Sex Domestic Violence, 30 Val. U. L. Rev. 335, 340 (1995) (stating that 50,000 to 100,000 lesbians and as many as 500,000 gay men are battered each year). 34. Barnes (see footnote 33, supra). 35. Murphy at 342 (see footnote 33, supra). See also National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Annual Report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Domestic Violence (1998) (stating that domestic violence protective orders are unavailable to victims of same-sex domestic violence in Arizona, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, New York, South Carolina and Virginia); available at http://www.lambda.org/dv97.htm. 36. Murphy at 341 (see footnote 33, supra). See Sandra E. Lundy, Abuse That Dare Not Speak Its Name: Assisting Victims of Lesbian and Gay Domestic Violence, 28 New Eng. L. Rev. 273, 281-84 (1993). 37. Murphy at 341-42 (see footnote 33, supra); Lundy at 282-83 (see footnote 36, supra). 38. National Center on Elder Abuse, “Frequently Asked Questions,” available at http://www.elderabusecenter.org/default.cfm?p=faqs.cfm. 39. Id. 40. Id. 41. Id., citing National Research Council, Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in an Aging America (Richard J. Bonnie and Robert B. Wallace, eds., 2003). 42. Id. 43. Id. 44. Id. 45. Michelle J. Anderson, Note, A License to Abuse: The Impact of Conditional Status on Female Immigrants, 102 Yale L. J. 1401,1403 (1993). 46. Leslye L. Orloff et al., With No Place to Turn: Improving Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women, 29 Fam. L. Q. 313, 317-18 (1995). 47. Id.; see Deena J. Jang, Caught in a Web: Immigrant Women and Domestic Violence, 28 National Clearinghouse 397, 400 (1994). 48. Orloff at 317-19 (see footnote 46, supra). 49. Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence in the Family, American Pychological Ass’n, at 10 (1996). 50. See Jay G. Silverman et al., Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality, 286 J.A.M.A. 5 (2001); Stacy L. Brustin, Legal Response to Teen Dating Violence, 29 Fam. L. Q. 331, 331-33 (1995) (discussing prevalence of dating violence and stating that on average, 28 percent of high school and college students experience dating violence). 51. Brustin at 333-34 (see footnote 50, supra) (stating that 26 percent of pregnant teenagers reported being physically abused by their boyfriends, and approximately half of these girls stated that the battering began or increased after their boyfriends were told of the pregnancy). 52. See Silverman (see footnote 50, supra). 53. Rennison, NCJ 187635 (see footnote 9, supra) (“In general, the lower the annual household income, the higher the rate of intimate partner violence. Among females age 16-19, rates of intimate partner violence for households receiving $7,500 or less were at least twice those of females in the same age category but at other income levels. For women age 20-24 in the lowest income category, intimate victimization rates were at least 20 percent higher than those in households with a larger income.”). 54. At least one study indicates that a male partner’s unemployment and drug or alcohol use were associated with an increased risk of domestic violence. A.L. Coker et al., Frequency and Correlates of Intimate Partner Violence by Type: Physical, Sexual, and Psychological Battering, 90 Am. J. Pub. Health 553-59 (2000). 55. Statistics reveal that alcohol use is frequently associated with domestic violence. For example, estimates show that 45 percent of domestic violence cases involve men abusing alcohol, while 20 percent of cases involve female alcohol abusers. J. Roizen, “Issues in the Epidemiology of Alcohol and Violence,” in Alcohol and Interpersonal Violence: Fostering Multidisciplinary Perspectives, at 3-36 (S. E. Martin, ed., NIAAA Research Monograph No. 24, 1993). 56. Jody Raphael and Richard M. Tolman, Trapped by Poverty, Trapped by Abuse: New Evidence Documenting the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Welfare, at 20 (1997), available at http://www.ssw. umich.edu/trapped/pubs_trapped.pdf. 57. Witnessing intimate partner violence as a child or an adolescent increases one’s risk of either perpetrating domestic violence or being a victim of such violence. Physical Violence in American Families: Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families (Murray A. Straus and Richard J. Gelles, eds., 1990). 58. Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence in the Family, American Psychological Ass’n (1996) (stating that a child’s witnessing a father abuse the mother is the strongest risk factor for transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next). 59. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “Predictors of Domestic Violence,” available at http:// www.ncadv.org/problem/predictors.htm. 60. Detis T. Duhart, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99, (Dec. 2001); NCJ 190076 (indicating that 1.1 percent of all workplace violence was committed by an intimate of the victim), available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/vw99.htm.
Sharon Cammack practices with the law firm of Short & Jenkins, L.L.P, where she focuses exclusively on family law matters. She is a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board and is this month’s guest editor. Patrice Pujol practices with the law firm of Forman, Perry, Watkins, Krutz & Tardy, L.L.P. She is the editor-in-chief of The Houston Lawyer.
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