Living With Monsters: A Brief Look At Domestic Violence

Living With Monsters 

Living With Monsters: A Brief Look At Domestic Violence

By Nomar Knight

There may be a thin line between love and hate, but some lines should NEVER be crossed.  It’s bad enough that we’re surrounded by violence, but do we have to put up with that nonsense in our homes?  I don’t know what would possess a guy to hit a woman.  Although I’ve had my buttons pushed and in my mind I committed some atrocities, I never lost it to the point where I would lay a finger on a woman.

Here’s some National Data on Domestic Violence:

• One in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.
  (Source: Sexual Assault Experiences and Perceptions of Community Response to Sexual Assault, 2001)
• One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.
  (Source: Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
• On average, more than three women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States.
  (Source: Family Violence Prevention Fund)
• Every nine seconds, a woman is beaten in the United States.
  (Source: American Institute on Domestic Violence 2001)
• Women ages 20-34 endure the highest rates of domestic violence.
  (Source: American Institute on Domestic Violence 2001)
• Only about one in five domestic violence victims with physical injuries seek professional medical treatment.
  (Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics)
• Sexual violence starts very early in life. More than half of all rapes of women (54%) occur before age 18; 22% of these rapes occur before age 12.
  (Source: Tjaden and Thoennes, 2000)
• Intimate partner violence is the leading cause of injury to women. It affects 1-3 million women a year in the U.S., making it more common than muggings, stranger rapes and car accidents combined.
  (Source: Frisso JA et al., 1996. Tjaden P, Thoennes N, 1998)
• Domestic crime against adults accounts for almost 15% of total crime costs: over $67 billion per year.
  (Source: Victim Cost and Consequences: A New Look. National Institute of Justice Research Report, Jan. 1996)

Okay, so this has been around for years and the numbers seem to be escalating.  I wonder when the madness will stop.  Like Rodney King said, “Can’t we all get along?”

Unfortunately, the chilling statistics spill over into medical costs.  Here a few more stunning stats:

Health Care and Violence

• An estimated 10% - 20% of emergency department visits by women with intimate partners are a result of domestic violence.
  (Source: The Health of Washington State Domestic Violence, 2004)
• 50% of all mental health care dollars are spent on adults who were abused as children.
  (Source: Victimization Costs and Consequences: A New Look. National institute of Justice 1996)
• In an HMO study, abused women cost the plan 92% more than the general female population.
  (Source: Wisner, C.L., Gilmer, T.P., Saltzman, L.E., and Zink, T.M. Intimate partner violence against women: Do victims cost health plans more? Journal of Family Practice 48(6): 439-43)
• More than 50% of abused women present with the following symptoms: fatigue, depression, anxiety, chest pain, back pain, abdominal pain, sleep disorder, shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, headaches, decreased appetite, dizziness.
  (Source: Sutherland, C et al., 1998)
• More than one third of sexual assault victims and battered women experience symptoms of depression.
  (Source: Toolkit to End Violence Against Women)
• 46% of domestic violence victims have symptoms of anxiety disorder.
  (Source: Toolkit to End Violence Against Women)
• If an injured victim of domestic violence is treated by a physician or nurse who does not inquire about abuse or who accepts an unlikely explanation of the injuries, and the patient then returns to the abusive situation and sustains further injuries, the physician or nurse could consequently be held liable for those injuries.
  (Source: AMA Guidelines on Domestic Violence, 1992)

I feel the best way to combat this problem is to educate, especially our male species.  Certainly we can rise above this and treat women with the respect and dignity they deserve.

Catch you on the dark side.

Nomar Knight

Statistics provided by Washington State Department of Health.

©2011 Copyright. Nomar Knight.  A Knight Chills presentation.