The Gabe Kapler Foundation

No race, age, gender, religion or socio-economic group is
spared from the horrors of domestic violence.

Women are injured by batterers more frequently than in car accidents, muggings and rapes combined. Ten times more women than men suffer from relationship abuse. They are wives, children, sisters, mothers, girlfriends and neighbors. Every nine seconds a woman is beaten. Three to four million women require medical or police attention each year. For 4,000 women each year, the abuse ends. That’s because they die!

	Over 3 million children are at risk of exposure to parental violence each year.
	Child abuse is 15 times more likely to occur in families where domestic violence is present.
	A child's exposure to the father abusing the mother is the strongest risk factor for transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.
	Children who witness violence at home display emotional and behavioral disturbances as diverse as withdrawal, low self-esteem, nightmares, self-blame and aggression against peers, family members, pets and property.
	Children who witness domestic violence are six times more likely to commit suicide.
	One in five 14 – 17 year old female High School students reports being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.*

A woman stays in an abusive relationship for many reasons, including fear of physical retaliation against her, her children, and her extended family. Embarrassment, low self esteem, self-blame, emotional dependency, financial dependency with the accompanying fear of being left homeless, isolation and the mistaken belief that “It is better
for the children” play significant roles. To read about a victim’s personal story, click here.

The highest risk for serious injury or death from domestic violence is at the time of separation or when the decision to separate is made. When the pain becomes unbearable, a small number of women take the risk and go into hiding with their children, often at emergency battered women’s shelters. A woman’s experience at this shelter can be life altering. The amount of support that she feels, the skills she acquires, and how her children are treated will all strongly influence the hard choices she now faces. Unfortunately, with the limited services these shelters are currently able to provide, 85% of women are lured home and the cycle of violence continues. But when a woman is able to find strength and confidence within the safety of the shelter, the likelihood that she will return home to her abuser is greatly reduced.

The Office on Violence Against Women, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/vawo, links to organizations and institutions throughout the country, supplying a wealth of information about how to get help or help others who are in trouble. They provide links to websites in both English and Spanish. These websites, as well as other sites, will furnish answers to your questions and provide information about how to find anti-violence support programs, counselors
and groups.

*http://womensissues.about.com/od/domesticviolence/a/dvstats4.htm