Domestic Safety

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior used by any individual to control or exert power over another individual in the contest of a relationship

Scope

• As many as 95% of perpetrators of domestic violence are male and 90 - 95% of victims of domestic violence are female
• It is estimated that a woman is abused every nine seconds in the United States, which results in the leading cause of emergency visits for women
• Research have found that the head is indeed a primary target in domestic attacked against women and the effect of these batterings can result in cumulative brain injury
• Domestic violence has immediate and long term detrimental effects on children

Domestic Abuse Facts

• It is estimated that four million American women experience serious assault by an intimate partner during an average 12 month period
• Women ages 19-29 reported more violence by intimates than any other age group
• Nearly one-in-three racial and ethnic adult women experience at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood
• Each year 28% of all violence against women is perpetrated by intimates
• Domestic violence is statistically consistent across racial and ethnic boundaries
• In homes where partner abuse occurs children are 1,500 times more likely to be abused
• 40-60% of men who abuse women also abuse children

Who What When & Why...

When children are killed during a domestic dispute, 90% are under the age of 10; 56% are under the age of 12

Prevention

• The prevention of violence must focus on the reduction of risk factors and the improvements of conditions that predispose individuals to commit violent acts
• Two critical risk factors for violent behaviors identified by many disciplines which must be addressed are

1. All types of violence within the home which frequently lead to a multi generational cycle of violence
2. Neurological deficits caused by brain injury, substances abuse or psychiatric illness which may heighten an individuals risk profile for becoming a perpertrator of violence

For More Information.....

Brain Injury Association of America
105 North Alfred Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: (708) 236-6000
Fax: (708) 236-6001
E-mail: prevention@biausa.org
www.biausa.org