One of America’s Best Kept Dirty Little “Secrets”

It is one of America's best kept ugly "secrets". It is so pervasive that
one in three women will be victim to it in their lifetime. It runs thru
all facets of society, ruining lives and putting additional burdens on
health care and business in the process. Domestic Violence will continue
to flourish and grow unless laws and views are drastically changed.

It can happen to anyone!! Young, old; rich, poor; Protestant, Catholic,
atheist; it knows not the boundary of neighborhood good or bad; white,
black, yellow, brown, green-it knows not the difference of color
although it prefers African Americans who are poor; male or female it
makes no difference although it prefers females between the age of
16-24. Eighty five to ninety percent of the victims are female who more
than likely know their attacker.

It is estimated that it causes 25% of workplace problems like
absenteeism, lower productivity, and excessive medical benefits use to
the tune of more than $5.8 billion annually. Seventy eight percent of
all Human Resource Directors recognize it as a substantial employee
problem. It costs corporate America $1.8 billion in lost productivity.
Eight million man days of paid work and 5.6 million man days of
household work are lost annually.

It is the largest cause of injury to middle aged women but it happens to
men as well. It is estimated that between 3.3 million and 10 million
children see it annually. Twenty two percent of middle class divorces
are caused by it.

It affects every fabric of our society-it knows no limits. It is also
estimated that nearly 50 percent of all suspected cases go unreported.

But I guess domestic violence in America is really not that important or
cost enough in economic or social terms or you would hear more about it.
I mean after all is said and done ninety percent of family violence
defendants are never prosecuted.

One out of three women report some form of physical or sexual abuse in
their lives most often a member of her own family. Maybe that's not
enough. Every year four to six million cases of physical violence occur
in intimate relationships. Maybe that's not enough. And remember only
fifty percent of cases are reported.

Police respond differently to domestic violence calls than to other
calls. Women in jail for a killing in a domestic disturbance get
sentenced an average of 15 years while men get an average of 2-6 years.
In 1990 there were 3800 animal shelters and 1500 shelters for battered
women.

Why is there such a double standard or no standard? Indeed it is a very
complicated issue that we are not going to solve today right here and
now. But the laws on domestic violence need to change, society's view of
the problem has to change, and until that happens domestic violence as
we know it will continue to flourish and grow.

In the meantime women would be well advised to be prepared and consider
what to do in an emergency. There are a multitude of resources on the
local, state and federal level available, but in the end it is going to
fall on your shoulders to arm yourself with the tools for self defense
or survival.

Those tools might include developing some knowledge of warning signs;
learning some techniques on self defense; carrying some non-lethal self
defense weapons; developing a workplace and personal safety plan. Don't
rely on someone else. You are the one that will make a difference!