Domestic Violence Facts

---

Domestic violence takes place in our nation every minute of every day, occurring just about every 15 seconds. Most Americans don’t realize just how real domestic violence is and how many lives are affected by it. Most of these cases are left behind closed doors. 

Every year, right around 10 million people become victims of domestic violence, which equates to just about 20 people every minute. Those are some pretty big and startling numbers.

It affects not only women, but men and children, of all different races, status, religions, and culture. No one is immune to it. Domestic violence shows itself in a number of different forms, whether it’s punching, slapping, choking, or threatening, manipulating, yelling and many others. No matter the situation, domestic violence is never okay.

Huge strides have already taken place ever since 1994 when the Violence Against Women Act was put in place. So many programs, services, and shelters have been made available to domestic violence victims, thanks to the issues that had been addressed to our legislation. Just between the years of 1993 and 2010, the overall domestic violence rate had dropped dramatically by nearly two-thirds, and that’s not all.

State legislation and laws have been reformed to tackle certain issues such as dating abuse in the workplace, employment discrimination, stalking and more.

As many as 3 out of 4 Americans know of another person that has, or is being abused by another individual, but a lot of times nothing is done about it. Action needs to take place, where an advocate is willing to speak up when others cannot. If you know of someone that is being abused, are you willing to be their voice? It’s time that we stand up to domestic violence and tell it enough is enough.

Domestic violence is never okay, no matter the circumstances. If you or someone you know is in desperate need of help, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224.