Soapbox: Domestic Violence Month

Some stats:
--1 in every 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
--1 in every 3 women who are homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner
--an estimated 1.3 million women each year are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner.
--1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape.
--intimate partner violence results in more than 18.5 million mental health care visits each year.
--the cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion per year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health services.
-- each year approximately 324,000 pregnant women are hurt by an intimate or former partner.
--the leading cause of death among pregnant women is murder.
-- each year there are 16,800 homicides and 2.2 million medically treated injuries due to intimate partner violence

And what about the children??
--30%-60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household.
--every 35 seconds a child is abused by domestic violence or neglect 
--each year around 900,000 children are confirmed as abused by domestic violence or neglect.
--Witnessing violence between one's parents or caretakers is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.
--Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.

Enough said??

Statistics from: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and ABC News 

Image credit: freshwajang.blogspot.com