FAMILY VIOLENCE

It happens at home …

An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Witnessing violence between one’s parents or caretakers is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.

Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.

• 30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household.
• Four children die every day in this country from violence and neglect.
• Over 3 million children were reported as victims of violence and neglect in the United States. Those are only the ones that are reported. The actual number is three times greater.
• Eighty percent of violent juvenile and adult prisoners were raised in violent homes.
• Survivors of violence are six times more likely to become abusive parents.
• One in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually molested before the age 18.
• Child violence victims are 25 times more likely to repeat a grade.
• Seventy-five percent of high school dropouts have a history of violence in their families.
• Forty-five percent of child violence victims become adult alcoholics.
• The United States annually spends an estimated $258 million on foster care, incarceration and other societal costs because of the abuse and neglect of children. This amounts to $1,460 per family, per year. Despite these high costs, the federal government invested only $10 in prevention research for every case reported.
• The costs of responding to the impact of violence and neglect in the United States are not only shouldered by the victims and their families but also by society. The estimated annual cost of violence and neglect against children is $103.8 billion based on 2007 data from the Bureau of Economics.

It happens at school …

• In the United States, an estimated 55 million students are enrolled in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. Another 15 million students attend colleges and universities across the country.
• Bullying and school violence have become a national crisis. Incidents of crime are reported at 96 percent of high schools, 94 percent of middle schools, and 74 percent of primary schools.
• Between 2001 and 2002, 17 school age victims died in school related deaths, (including accidents and suicide.

The facts are alarming!

Violence at home and at school hurts children. It hurts families.

What can we do?

It starts with you!

Talk about it in your community. Talk about it in your schools. Talk about it in your family. If you have a healthy family that is free from violence and neglect, look around you and see who doesn’t have a violent and neglect free family.

Reach out to help them.

Whether it’s emotional support a woman needs to leave her abusive husband so that she and her children are safe … or children whose parents need parenting education and anger management courses … or schools that need to step up and act responsibly to keep students safe from bullying and violence … It’s time to BREAK THE CYCLE.

Help those in your community to break the cycle against violence by:

• Giving them literature about domestic violence and violence against children
• Referring them to www.loveourchildrenusa.org and www.stompoutbullying.org
• Showing them our videos
• Contacting Love Our Children USA for resources and information

It takes all of us to keep families safe, to send our children to violence-free schools and to ensure that every child grows up to be a healthy, happy adult who does NOT continue the cycle.

Love Our Children USA works aggressively to keep America's children safe and to ensure that children grow up to be happy healthy adults who will continue the cycle of love and nurturing.