Did You Know That…

• On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million people
• 20% of all murders are domestic violence-related
• 44% of lesbians and 61% of bisexual women experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner
• 26% of gay men and 37% of bisexual men experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner
• Children who witness domestic violence are 6 times as likely to commit suicide and 57 times as likely to abuse drugs
• Every 5 years, more women are killed by domestic violence than Americans killed in the Vietnam War
• 76% of rape and sexual assault are committed by husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends, family members, or acquaintances

What is domestic abuse?

• Domestic abuse is a form of control that one person exercises over another.
• Domestic abuse can be verbal, physical, psychological, or sexual in nature.

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A domestic abuse victim includes:

• someone who has been verbally abused
• someone whose freedom of word, thought, or deed has been restricted
• someone who has been threatened with harm
• someone who is forced to engage in sexual activity against their will
• someone who has been physically harmed

What is sexual assault?

• Attempted rape
• Fondling or unwanted sexual touching
• Being forced to perform sexual acts
• Receiving unwanted sexual acts

Who could be an abuser?

• a current or former spouse or partner
• a family or household member
• someone with whom you have had sexual relations
• someone you know and trust
• an acquaintance (neighbor, a friend of a friend, classmate, etc.)

Did you know

• The two most pressing concerns for survivors of abuse are the need for safe housing and the need for economic resources to maintain safety?
• 85% of victim advocates surveyed by the NCAVP reported having worked with an LGBTQ survivor who was denied services because of their sexual orientation or gender identity
• A study of homeless women with children found that 80% had previously experienced domestic violence
• 57% of homelessness was caused by domestic violence.
• In just 1 day in 2016, over 41,000 adults and children fled domestic violence and found refuge in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.
• 7,914 requests by domestic violence survivors for housing were unmet due to lack of funding, staffing, or other resources. Emergency shelter and transitional housing were the most urgent unmet need for survivors.

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Statistics are from Safe Housing Partnerships: Intersection of Domestic Violence and Homelessness, the Human Rights Campaign, NCADV, RAINN