Children and Domestic Violence

							     Children and Domestic Violence
         Children are not uniformly affected by their exposure to domestic violence.    1




         Several factors in the lives of children can affect their resilience, including their development of
          talents and interests, their access to close relationships with trustworthy adults, their ability to
          escape self-blame, and the strength of their peer rela tionships.   2




         Men who batter their spouses or partners physically abuse their children at a seven times higher
          rate than non-battering men and they sexually abuse their children at a six times higher rate than
          non-battering men.   3




         A study by Bowker, Arbitell and McFerron (1988) found 70% of batterers abuse children. Rates of
          child abuse by batterers did not vary by race or religion, but were higher in families with higher
          income. 4
         In at least 12% of domestic violence homicides, the batterer also kills one or more children.    5




         Anywhere from 44.5%- 73% of incest perpetrators also batter the child's mother. Exposure to
          domestic violence is emerging as an important risk factor for incest victims. 6


         1. Jaffe, P., Wolfe, D.A. & Wilson, S. (1990). Children of Battered Women. Newbury Park, CA:
             Sage
         2. Roy, M. (1988) Children in the crossfire: Violence in the home -how does it affect our children?
             Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc.
         3. Bancroft, L., Silverman, J. (2003). The Batterer as Parent. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
         4. Bowker, L., Arbitell, M. & McFerron, R. (1988). On the relationship between wife beating and
             child abuse. In K. Yllo & M. Bograd (Eds.), Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse . Newbury Park,
             CA: Sage
         5. Langford, L., Isaac, N.E. & Kabat, S. (1999). Homicides Related to Intimate Partner Violence in
            Massachusetts 1991-1995. Boston: Peace at Home
         6. Bancroft, L., Silverman, J. (2003). The Batterer as Parent. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage (p. 86)
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     Domestic Violence and Homelessness
    46% of cities surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors identified domestic violence as a primary
     cause of homelessness. 1
    Many studies show the relationship of domestic violence to homelessness, particularly among families
     with children. A 1990 Ford Foundation study found that 50% of homeless women and children were
     fleeing abuse.   2




    1. The United States Conference of Mayors. (2000). A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in
         American Cities. [Online], Available: http://www.usmayors.org
    2. Zorza, J. (1991) Women Battering: A Major Cause of Homelessness . Clearinghouse, 25 (Special
         Issue) 421-29.
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     Sexual Violence
    An Estimated 683,000 women are forcibly raped each year in the United states, which equates to 1.3
     women being raped every minute.    1




    In Kansas, in 2002, there were 1,157 rapes reported to law enforcement.   2




    Rape remains the most dramatically underreported crime. 70-84% of rapes are not reported to law
     enforcement.     1




    Most rapes are perpetrated by someone known and trusted by the victim. In 2002, in Kansas, the
     offender knew the victim in at least 71.3% of the reported cases.   2




    In 2001, in Kansas, local sexual assault centers served 4,794 victims of sexual abuse.   3




    1. Kilpatrick, D.G., Edmunds, C.N., and Seymour, A. (1992). Rape in America: A Report to the Nation.
       National Victim Center.
    2. Kansas Bureau of Investigation. (2002). A Report on Domestic Violence and Rape Statistics in
       Kansas: As reported by law enforcement.
    3. Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. (2003). Domestic Violence and Sexual
       Assault Advocacy Services in Kansas.
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     Sexual Dating Violence
    Women are most often raped between 16 and 24 years of age. The peak rate of victimization occurs in
     the 16-19 year old age group with the next highest rate of victimization occurring between 20 and 24
     years of age. 1
    93% of juvenile sexual assault victims knew their attacker; 34.2% were family members and 58.7%
     were acquaintances. Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victims. 2
    About 90% of college women surveyed report that their attacker was a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend,
     friend, acquaintance or co-worker. And often the sexual victimization occurred during a date. Nearly
     13% of the women surveyed reported being the victim of date rape, and 35% reported being the
     victim of attempted rape while on a date. 3


    1. Koss, M. (1992). Rape on Campus: Facts and Measures. Planning for Higher Education. 20(3): 21-
       28.
    2. Snyder, H.N. (2000). Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim,
       Incident, and Offender Characteristics. U.S. Department of Justice, Justice Statistics. NCH 182990
    3. Fisher, B.S., Cullen, F.T., and Turner, M.G. (2000) The Sexual Victimization of College Women. U.S.
       Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. NCJ 182369