IT'S A FACT:
Although most statistics available refer to violence against Women. Men are also abused. If you are being abused by your spouse/partner, you can get help. Abuse hurts, it doesn't matter what your gender is. For help and support ring the refuge 041-9844550.
Men can seek help and support from an organisation called Amen. Tel 046) 902 3718; After hours (086) 194 7270
1 in 5 women experience Domestic Violence. (Making the links, Kelleher Associates & O'Connor, 1995).
That 42%of women in Ireland suffer some form of sexual abuse during their lives. (SAVI Reports, 2002).
That 1 in 8 women have experienced abuse from their partner while pregnant. (Rotunda Maternity Hospital 2000).
55% of women who reported physical abuse have experienced abuse during pregnancy. Of these women, 50% of their pregnancies ended in miscarriage. (Making the Links, Women's Aid, 1995).
That Domestic Violence is THE major cause of death and disability for women aged 16-44 in Europe, more than cancer or traffic accidents. (Amnesty International, Stop Violence against Women Campaign).
That 146 women have been murdered in Ireland since 1996. 86% of these women were murdered in their own home and the vast majority of them knew their murderer. All of the completed cases have been male perpetrated. Of the resolved cases, 47% of the women were murdered by a partner or ex-partner. (Women's Aid Female Homicide Watch, October 2008).
Almost one quarter (23%) of perpetrators of sexual violence against women as adults are intimate partners or ex-partners. (SAVI Reports, 2002)
25% of women experiencing domestic violence are assaulted for the first time during pregnancy. ( Royal College of Midwives, 1997)
30% of calls to the Women's Aid National Free phone Help line related to physical abuse included being woken from sleep, being suffocated by pillows, face being scarred with cigarettes/broken glass/knives, beatings with implements such as shovels/golf clubs/belt buckles and being strangled into unconsciousness. (Women's Aid National Free phone Help line Statistics, 2004)
Domestic violence has a higher rate of repeat victimization than any other crime. ( 2000 British Crime Survey: England and Wales, Home Office, 2001)
In 2003, the Gardai responded to 8,452 domestic violence incidents. This is an average of 23 responses a day. (An Garda Síochána Annual Report 2003).
90-97% of perpetrators of violence in intimate relationships are men. (Dobash and Dobash, 1992, Women and Change in Women and Social Change, 1992).
On average a woman will be assaulted by her partner or ex-partner 35 times before reporting it to the police. ( Yearnshire, S; Analysis of cohortion Bewley S, Friend J, and Mexey G(eds), Violence against Women, London,1997)
WHAT ARE CHILDREN EXPOSED TO:
WITNESSING
· In 90% of cases where there is domestic violence, children are in the same or next room.(Hughes, 1992)
·70% of children witnessed violence directly.(Hilton, 1992)
· Witnessing violence over time may have a cumulative impact affecting children’s health (Brandon & Lewis, 1996)
HEARING
·62% of children overheard one or more attack. (UK NCH-National Children's Home- Action for Children Survey, 1995)
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
·10% of children witnessed their mother being sexually abused. (NCH Survey, 1995.)
INJURY
· 13% of children are hurt or injured during a domestic violence incident. (NCT Survey, 1995.)
· 52% of cases show that both wife and child abuse are inflicted by the same perpetrator. (Towards a Community Response to Domestic Violence in Tuam Rural District, Tuam Community Development Centre with Liz Power, 1998)
GLOBAL STATISTICS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
The UN estimates that about 60 million women are missing from the world’s population because of sex selection abortions, female infanticide and preferential treatment of boys in terms of food and health resources. (UNCIEF, 1997"Progress of Nations").
130 million women have undergone Female Genital Mutilation; 2 million are subjected to FGM each year. ( UNICEF, 2000 Innocent Digest, Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls, No 6)
It is estimated that currently 300,000 to 500,000 women are in prostitution in the Philippines. (Figures from the Asia Migrant Centre, Philippines, quoted in The Prostitution Sexuality, Kathleen Barry, New York University Press, 1995).
In the UK, a women dies at the hands of her partner every three days. (Home Office, Uk,1995)
In Bosnia, the Warburton Report concluded that rape in Bosnia-Herzegovina formed a recognizable pattern and should be seen as a deliberate strategy of war.(Warburton Report: www.womenaid.org/press/info/humanrights/warburton.htm)
In Vietnam, 39% of women amongst the boat people were abducted and/or raped whilst at sea.(www.boatpeople.com)
In worldwide studies the percentage of women who ever experienced Domestic Violence varies from country to country for example, 34%in Egypt, 58% in Turkey, 21% in Switzerland, 27% in Canada and 47% in Bangladesh. (World Report on Violence and Health, WHO 2002).
