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MYTH 1
Domestic violence does not affect many people.
FACT
- A woman is beaten every 15 seconds.
- Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between ages
15 and 44 in the united States - more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes
combined.
- Battered women are more likely to suffer miscarriages and to give birth
to babies with low birth weights.
- Sixty-three percent of the young men between the ages of 11 and 20 who
are serving time for homicide have killed their mother's abuser.
MYTH 2
Battering is only a momentary loss of temper.
FACT
- Battering is the establishment of control and fear in a relationship
through violence and other forms of abuse. The batterer uses acts of violence
and a series of behaviors, including intimidation, threats, psychological
abuse, isolation, etc. to coerce and to control the other person. The violence
may not happen often, but it remains as a hidden (and constant) terrorizing
factor.
- "One in five women victimized by their spouses or ex-spouses
report they had been victimized over and over again by the same person."
Myth 3
Domestic violence only occurs in poor, urban areas.
FACT
- Women of all cultures, races, occupations, income levels, and ages are
battered - by husbands, boyfriends, lovers and partners.
- "Approximately one-third of the men counseled (for battering) are
professional men who are well respected in their jobs and their communities.
these have included doctors, psychologists, lawyers, ministers, and business
executives.
MYTH 4
Domestic violence is just a push, slap or punch - it does not produce
serious injuries.
FACT
- Battered women are often severely injured - 22 to 35 percent of women
who visit medical emergency rooms are there for injuries related to ongoing
partner abuse.
- One in four pregnant women have a history of partner violence.
MYTH 5
It is easy for battered women to leave their abuser.
FACT
- Women who leave their batterers are at a 75% greater risk of being
killed by the batterer than those who stay.
- Nationally, 50 percent of all homeless women and children are on the
streets because of violence in the home.
- There are nearly three times as many animal shelters in the United
States as there are shelters for battered women and their children.
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