Summary: The Economic Cost Of Violence Against Women

Statistic’s have suggested violence is perpetrated against women in almost half of all marriages (Domestic Violence).Statistic’s gathered from 1994 indicate domestic violence causes almost 100,000 days of hospitalization, 30,000 emergency room visits, 40,000 trips to the doctor every year, and 50% of all homeless woman and their children are fleeing domestic violence( Domestic Violence).

For centuries domestic violence has been perceived as a private matter private of which the government has not been concerned about nor was it considered the government’s business to intervene on behalf of a battered spouse. The unlawful nature of this failure for state or federal government intervention against this crime contributed to the systematic abuse of women in the family. The traditions, customs, and common law found in both British and American societies continued right up until the last decade of the 20th century and left the battered wives and very frequently, her children, at the mercy of the husband. It wasn’t until the 1990’s when the government began to do something to protect mothers, wives, and lovers from intimate

Domestic violence is a problem in our country with nearly 1 million women experiencing at least one incident of domestic abuse each year, (2009/10 British Crime Survey). Social-program funding is being scrutinized in the current economic climate with doubts as to whether American tax dollars should be used to help victims of domestic violence. Cutting funds for government programs that assist victims of domestic violence is not an option for many reasons. In this essay I will explore some of the many ways these programs help our fellow citizens in order to support the argument for continuing to fund said programs.

Nowadays, domestic violence is still an issue that affects women not only in the United States but all around the world.

The cause of domestic violence is not too difficult to understand. The reason why people beat their intimate partner is because, one partner feels like they need to be superior against the other. They feel insecure and powerless, so they turn into violent behavior. Big life changed like becoming really ill or women getting pregnant can increase the chance to be in a domestic violence situation. Another reason may be going into debt, being unemployed, or losing something significant to one partner. (Joyful Heart Foundation). When a victim tries to leave, it could make their situation worse. By failing to leave the victim might feel more abandoned and hopeless. If we don’t change our ways, the situation will get worse. Statistics from domestic abuse have increased in mostly every end each year. If we don’t stop it, it will just increase and increase until somebody decides to change it. In the 1990’s there would be thousands or hundred thousands of victims. Now, each minute about 20-24 people are victims of physical violence. Which account for 12 million cases in a stretch of a year in the United States only. Now the question is how are we going to solve this.

The above costs could only be an estimate as not many domestic abuse cases are reported. Injuries from domestic violence could simply be recorded as accidents at home or slips & trips. Health care facilities being the first people to face the abuse victims, need to be experienced to recognise the signs of abuse and be confident in dealing with these issues. Proper training needs to be in place for this. Therefore

Domestic abuse in the United States is a large-scale and complex social and health problem. The home is the most violent setting in America today (Lay, 1994). Sadly enough, the majority of people who are murdered are not likely killed by a stranger during a hold-up or similar crime but are killed by someone they know. Not surprisingly, the Center for Disease Control and prevention has identified interpersonal violence as a major public health problem (Velson-Friedrich, 1994). Current estimates suggest that three to four million women are the victims of physical abuse by their intimate partners (Harris & Cook, 1994). According to the FBI, some form of domestic violence occurs in half of the homes in the United States at least once a

Domestic violence against women happens around the world every day, but the main focus of location discussed in this paper is Washington State. Females are most likely to suffer domestic violence abuse from someone that they know. In such cases, it has been a spouse that is the attacker. Women escape these violent crimes and reach out for help, but not every time. Based off of the data collected, I strongly believe that females are more often victims of domestic violence than males.

Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes.

Domestic violence wears many different masks and is even accepted in some societies. Many different cultures around the world have been and continue to be affected by the results of domestic violence. The term, “domestic violence,” was first

In Greenville County, of particular concern, is the incidence of domestic violence. Domestic violence is at an all time high in South Carolina, with the incidence of homicide by domestic partner twice that of the national average (Safe Horizon, 2015). Greenville County‘s domestic violence crimes are highest in the state with over four thousand victims in 2014 alone (The Rule of Thumb: A Five Year Overview of Domestic Violence in South Carolina, 2014). While there is not currently an objective that specifically addresses domestic violence, Healthy People 2020 recognizes that there needs to be a better understanding of this trend. Efforts to prevent domestic violence may focus on changing social norms about the acceptance of violence and education on bullying, dating violence, and sexual violence among youth, as well as learning effective conflict resolutions and coping skills. Healthy People 2020 also recognizes that beyond the immediate health consequences, domestic violence may also have a significant impact on a person’s well-being by contributing to premature death, disability, poor mental health, high medical costs, and loss of productivity

These two organizations then researched what the cost of this domestic violence is, and found some startling data. They found that victims of domestic violence lose about 8 million days of paid work a year and the cost of the violence is over $8.3 million a year (NCADV) (Violence Prevention). Victims are losing paid days of work, meaning they are not at their job working, which means that work is not getting done. The $8.3 million cost of this violence is from all the medical and mental health care, and loss of productivity of the victims. These victims, most of which are women, are not at their jobs and not being productive, which means the company will ultimately lose money since they have one less person working. Those 8 million days will add up to a lot of time and money lost because of one person, usually a man, deciding to abuse their partner. The health care systems have to help the victims and use precious materials to treat them, which is a loss of money for society and ultimately hurts it. If the violence did not occur, this would not happen, but it does, so society pays the price. Domestic violence is a major problem that hurts women and society, just because they are insignificant and unequal

It is also known that domestic violence usually increases in frequency and intensity. Research has shown that about 2 to 4 million women will experience some kind of domestic violence each year in the United States, and about 23% to 34% of women will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. This aggression towards women results in physical injuries, physical health problems, psychological disturbance, and, in some cases, death.

According to data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), in 2003 to 2012, domestic violence accounted for almost a quarter of all violent crimes committed. According to the same survey conducted, only 55% of those domestic violence crimes were reported to the police. Based on a study that was conducted on past domestic violence crimes, there was a decline of domestic violence from 1994-2003 but in recent years, depending on the type of intimate partner violence, each either had a small increase or stayed the same (Truman, 2014).

In a study conducted by Hines and Saudino (2002), domestic violence in close, intimate relationships is a country wide problem within the United States. The last nationally conducted survey found that an estimated 16 percent of married Americans experienced domestic violence within the previous year. That means that approximately 8.7 million couples have been affected by domestic violence (Hines, Saudino 2002).