The Scope of the Problem

Domestic violence is similar to elder abuse: it is a huge social problem, but it very often seems to be ignored. It is also very similar to elder abuse because it is a huge social problem that goes unreported. It has been estimated that the police in the United States spend approximately 33 percent of their working hours responding to calls involving domestic violence, and approximately 25% of the population has been affected by domestic violence. Millions of women and a surprisingly large number of men

are subjected to physical violence, sexual assaults, and psychological and emotional abuse from their partners. But only a small fraction of all of the cases of domestic violence are reported or prosecuted. The abuse just keeps on, and it has serious consequences. Victims of domestic violence often suffer from depression, substance abuse, chronic mental illness, and poor overall health. These victims can also suffer serious injuries or even be killed.

Learning Break: Physical violence as a form of domestic violence is very common. No one knows exactly people are struck or injured by a partner each year, but recent surveys suggest that in any given year over 5 million women and 3 million men are physically abused by their intimate partner.

Domestic violence has traditionally been thought of as men abusing women. However, there is strong evidence that a very large number of men are abused by their female partners. No one knows for sure how common this is, but there many experts who feel that the incidence of females abusing their male partners may be almost equal to that of men abusing women.

Many people believe that domestic violence is a problem that affects certain socio-economic groups to a greater degree than others. This may or may not be true and because of reporting biases it is difficult to know who is more likely to be a victim of domestic violence. However, although there are trends in domestic violence that can be detected it is clear that domestic violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, regardless of age, ethnic background, gender, income, or location. Do not assume that someone cannot be a victim of domestic violence because of his/her background.