| Myth |
Fact |
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Domestic violence
doesn't affect many people. |
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A woman is beaten every 9 seconds.
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The American Medical Association (AMA) and
FBI estimate 3-4 million women are battered each year in the U.S.
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Domestic Violence is the single greatest
cause of injury to women.
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The FBI estimates violence will occur during the course
of two-thirds of all marriages.
|
|
Battered
women are exaggerating; it's not that serious. |
|
|
Domestic violence only occurs in poor, urban areas. |
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Women of
all cultures, races occupations, income levels, and ages are battered -
by husbands, boyfriends, lovers and partners.
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White,
Black and Hispanic women all incur about the same rates of violence
committed by an intimate partner.
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Approximately one-third of the men counseled for battering at Emerge (a
nationally recognized batterers treatment program) are professional men
who are well respected in their jobs and communities. These have
included doctors, psychologists, lawyers, ministers, and business
executives.
|
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If a battered woman wanted to leave, she could. |
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Many
women do leave abusive partners, more than 50%.
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Leaving a
battering partner may be the most dangerous time in that relationship.
Women are 70 times more likely to be killed in the two weeks after
leaving than at any other time during the relationship.
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Social,
economic, cultural, religious, or legal issues often keep battered women
in an abusive relationship.
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Many women want the violence, not the relationship to end. They may
take many steps to try to stop the abuse; leaving the home may be their
last resort.
|
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Husbands
and wives equally violent. |
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95% of
domestic violence is reported by women - perpetrated against by their
male partner.
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When men
are battered it is typically by their male intimate partner .....
battering occurs in gay & lesbian relationships at the same rate as
heterosexual relationships - approximately 35%.
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80% of all violent crimes committed outside the home are committed by
males....it is highly unlikely that women, generally peaceful and
non-violent would make up half of partner violence.
|
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Battering
is a momentary loss of temper. |
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Battering
is the establishment of control and fear in a relationship through
violence and other forms of abuse. The violence may not happen often,
but it remains a hidden and constant terrorizing factor.
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More than
80% of male batterers are not physically aggressive towards any other
adults in their lives. They sole assault their intimate partner. If
battering were a mental illness or behavioral disorder batterers would
assault others, in addition to their intimate partner.
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A battering incident is rarely an isolated occurrence; beatings
escalate in frequency and intensity. Assault is a crime whether
it is committed within or outside the family.
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Battering
is caused by alcohol and drug abuse. |
Studies vary broadly (25-80%) on the rates of alcohol or substance abuse
occurring simultaneously to battering. Clearly, an individual under the
influence of a substance can cause more serious injuries. But most
important, alcohol and substance abuse do not cause domestic violence,
but do severely complicate it. Many batterers do not use substances.
These are issues that must be treated separately. |
|
Batterers
can't change. |
Studies have shown that high consequences affect batterer’s decisions to
continue the use of physical violence. The criminal justice system can
hold batterers accountable for their actions and court order jail and
counseling. Men who batter can learn to take responsibility for their
own behavior and can learn non-violent ways to act and communicate. The
programs for men who batter, however, are only as effective as the
willingness of the batterer to change. |
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