The Dramatic Increase In Family Violence
It’s always horrific when family violence comes to light in the media. When Lacy Peterson and her newborn baby were found murdered, our hearts sank. In fact, murder is the leading cause of death for pregnant women! While the statistics and the grisly reality that we do hear about are alarming, there are millions of battered women and endangered lives that we don’t hear about. Violence in the family tends to be a tragedy that remains behind closed doors.
Each year, more than 1,460 children die of neglect or child abuse in America. Nearly half of these murders occur before the child is one year old and 75% occur before age four. The most common type of harm is neglect, which accounts for nearly half of the deaths. The second most common type is multiple maltreatments, which includes hitting, shaking or intentionally hurting the child again and again over time. As a result of these abuses, many children grow up to become aggressors themselves. For instance, 37% of female inmates and 14% of male inmates were victims of childhood violence. Abused children are also 3.8 times more likely to become alcohol or substance abusers and a third of the victims go on to hurt their own children.
Findings indicate that 1.6 - 2 million older Americans are victims of family violence in household and institutional settings each year. The most common victims are women who are over 70 years of age and are victims of emotional, financial, physical and sexual abuse, as well as neglect. The California Department of Justice found that 1 in every 20 elders is a victim of neglect or harm. Unfortunately, many of these cases do not come to light until serious injury or even death occurs.
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