Every nine seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten.
Every 24 hours, three women die at the hands of a current or former partner.
Every year, 4,000 women perish from domestic violence.
Such facts are so often repeated, they may lose their meaning. To put it into context, compare it to war. The number of American soldiers killed in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2012 was 2,002. The number of American women murdered by current or former partners during the same time – 11,766.
There are more shelters for animals in the United States, than safe havens for battered women. On a single day in September 2014, nearly 10,000 abused women were turned away from shelters or legal resources because of a lack of funds. The majority of these women returned to their abuser. The number one reason? Economic instability. U.S. victims of domestic abuse lose a total of 8 million days of paid work each year, or the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs, according to the National Violence Against Women Survey. Their abusers may also hold total financial control, money the weapon of choice for many.
THE FACTS
Number of women killed each day by intimate partner: 3
National Network to End Domestic Violence
CNN
Percentage of increase in risk that a domestic violence situation will end in homicide if a gun is present: 500
American Journal of Public Health
Number of U.S. troops killed from 2001 to 2012 in Afghanistan: 2,002
Number of women, in the same period, killed as the result of domestic violence in the U.S.: 11,766
Politifact
Upworthy
Number of women turned away from domestic violence programs in a single day in September 2013 due to budget cuts: 9,641
Of those turned away from shelters, percentage that wound up living on the streets or in their cars: 40
The percentage who returned to their abusers: 60
National Network to End Domestic Violence
Annual cost of domestic violence in U.S.: $5.8 billion
Center for Disease Control
Forbes
Percentage of women convicted of homicide who acted in self defense against an abuser: up to 80
Solidarity
THE EXPERTS
Yvonne Maria Jimenez
Deputy Director – Neighborhood Legal Services of L.A. County
Lenora Lapidus
Director – ACLU Women’s Rights Project
Emily Sack
Deputy Director – Center for Court Innovation
Paula J. Caplan
Psychologist; Associate – Harvard University Dubois Institute
THE RESOURCES
National Domestic Violence Hotline
http://www.thehotline.org
(800) 799-7233
Legal Resource Center on Violence Against Women
http://www.lrcvaw.org
(800) 556-4053
Domestic Shelters Directory
https://www.domesticshelters.org/
Every 9 Seconds
http://www.every9seconds.com