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Domestic Violence Facts & Statistics
Colorado Domestic Violence Service Statistics
According to the State of Colorado's Domestic Abuse Assistance Program
(DAAP), in 2006,
Colorado domestic violence programs funded by DAAP:
sheltered 5,601 women and children, for a total
of 87,722 nights of shelter. Programs report that
the number of individuals requesting shelter has
decreased, but that more individuals request shelter for longer periods
of time due to the
lack of available of affordable housing in many communities.
turned
away 5,886 individuals
from shelters in
Colorado due to a lack of capacity, a 6%
increase compared to 2005 and a 22%
increase compared to 2004.
provided non-residential counseling and advocacy services to 20,534 women,
children and men
responded to 43,863 emergency crisis intervention
phone
calls. This represents an increase of over 30% compared to the 33,428
calls answered in
2005.
provided 2,335 community education presentations
to 80,191 individuals
received 295,463 donated volunteer hours from Coloradoans.
National & Statewide Domestic Violence Services Census
On November 2, 2006, the National
Network Against Domestic Violence (NNEDV) and domestic violence
programs across the country
participated
in the
National Census
of Domestic Violence Services. Designed to
address the safety
and confidentiality
needs of victims, the Census
collected
an
unduplicated,
non-invasive count of adults and children who received critical services
from
local domestic violence programs
during the 24-hour survey period.
Almost one half of all murders committed in Colorado are committed
by a current or former intimate partner and the victims are disproportionately
female. A firearm, specifically a handgun, is the most used weapon during
a domestic violence fatality. Even more tragic, from 2000 to 2006, 19
children were killed during a domestic violence related incident (Project
Safeguard 2006).
Nationally, the occurrence of domestic violence fatalities tends to
be slightly lower, but no less tragic. From 1976 to 2002, about 11% of
all homicide victims in the United States were killed by a current or
former intimate partner (Fox and Zawitz 2004). However, homicide is the
leading cause of death of pregnant women in the U.S. (Chang, Berg and
Herndon 2005).
In Colorado in 2006, there were 32 incidents resulting in 41 domestic
violence related fatalities. Those incidents included:
24 intimate partners murdered (20 female victims
were killed by a male partner and 4 male victims were killed by a
female partner)
2 children murdered by their fathers
1 friend of a victim murdered
10 perpetrator suicides (all male) and
4 perpetrators killed
by law enforcement or by a family member.
A recent publication by Project Safeguard analyzed 90 cases of domestic
violence fatalities and the results provide a clearer picture of the
circumstances surrounding such incidents. Again, males were disproportionately
higher as the offender and females were the majority of victims. Most
of the deaths occurred in the victim’s home.
The victims ranged in age from 18 to 85 years old, with an average age
of 36 years old, whereas the offenders ranged in age from 17 to 80, with
an average of 38 years old. Approximately half of the victims in the
study sample were White and the relationship status at the time of death
between the victim and perpetrator was that they were still in a current
relationship (Project Safeguard 2006).
Almost one-half of all murders in Colorado are committed by an intimate
or former intimate partner and the victims are disproportionately
female. Citation: Project Safeguard, Fatality Review Project Denver, Colorado
2007
In 2006, 41 people died during 32 incidents of domestic violence.
This included 2 children. Firearms, specifically a handgun was the
most
used weapon followed by a knife. Citation: Project Safeguard, Fatality Review Project Denver, Colorado
2007
From 2000 to 2006, 19 children have been killed during a domestic
violence related incident. Citation: Project Safeguard, Fatality Review Project Denver, Colorado
2007
In 2006, there were 7 incidents of murder/suicide resulting in
15 deaths. In all of those incidents, men were the perpetrators. Since 2002,
there have been 52 incidents of murder/suicide resulting in 112 deaths. Men
were the perpetrators in over 95% of those incidents. Citation: Project Safeguard, Fatality Review Project Denver, Colorado
2007
In 2006, domestic violence victim assistance agencies provided
87,722 nights of shelter to 5,601 women and their children, but had
turned
away 5,886 request due to lack of space. Citation: State of Colorado Department of Human Services, Domestic Abuse
Assistance Program Denver, Colorado 2006.
In 2006, domestic violence
victim assistance agencies answered 43,863 emergency crisis phone calls.
There were 295,463 volunteer hours
donated to these agencies during this time also. Citation: State of Colorado Department of Human Services, Domestic
Abuse Assistance Program Denver, Colorado 2006
In 2006, there
were 75,703 criminal cases filed in Colorado county courts. Of those 14,123
or 5.36% were classified as domestic violence.
However, only 2,644 (3.49%) cases of domestic abuse protection order violations
were filed as opposed to 3,211 (4.24%) filings of criminal
cases classified
as “animal violations.” Citation: State of Colorado Court Administrators Office Website,
County Court Misdemeanor Filings by Type, FY 2006
In 2006, there
were 13,620 protection orders case filings in the Colorado civil
court system. Of those, 7,237 were classified as orders
to prevent domestic abuse and 6,383, or 47%, were protection orders not related
to domestic abuse nor did they involve current/intimate partners. Citation: State of Colorado Court Administrators Office Website, County
Court Filings by Type, FY 2006
The National Crime Victimization Survey found that in 2005, 14%
of the households in the United States experienced one or more violent
or property
victimizations. About one in 320 households were affected by intimate
partner violence. Citation: Klaus, P. National Crime Victimization Survey: Crime
and the Nation’s Households, 2005. Washington DC: Bureau of
Justice Statistics, DOJ (US); April 2007.
Nearly 5.3 million intimate partner victimizations occur each year
among U.S. women ages 18 and older. This violence results in nearly
2 million
injuries and 1,300 deaths. Citation: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Costs
of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States.
Atlanta
(GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003.
44% of women
murdered by their intimate partner had visited an emergency department
within two years of the homicide. Of these women, 93%
had at least one injury visit. Citation: Crandall M, Nathens AB, Kernic MA, Hold VL, Rivara FP.
Predicting future injury among women in abusive relationships. Journal
of Trauma-Injury
Infection and Critical Care 2004; 56(4): 902 12.
Intimate partner
violence occurs across all populations, irrespective of social, economic,
religious or cultural group. Young women and
those below the poverty line are disproportionately affected. Citation: Heise L, Garcia-Moreno C. Violence by Intimate Partners.
In: Krug E, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, et al, editors. World Report
on Violence
and Health. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; 2002.
9. 87-121.
Seventy-four percent of all murder-suicides involved
an intimate partner. Of these, 96% were females killed by their intimate
partners and
75% of those incidents occurred in the home. Citation: Violence Policy Center: American Roulette: Murder-Suicide
in the United States. Washington DC: (US) May 2006
Homicide
committed by an intimate or former intimate partner is the leading cause
of death of pregnant women in the United States. Citation: Chang, Jeani; Cynthia Berg; Linda Saltzman and Joy
Herndon, 2005. Homicide: A Leading Cause of Injury Deaths
Among Pregnant
and Postpartum Women in the United States, 1991-1999. American
Journal
of Public Health,
96 (3): 471-477.
The Uniform Crime Report Program’s
Supplementary Homicide Report Table “Murder by Relationship” listed
1,823 deaths in the category “Family” in 2005.
Of those, 594 deaths were under the heading of “Wife” and
135 were “Husband.” Citation: Crime in the United States 2005. Washington DC:
DOJ-FBI September 2006.
Female murder victims are substantially
more likely than male murder victims to have been killed by an intimate
or former intimate
partner. Citation: Fox JA, Zawitz MW, Homicide Trends in the United
States. Washington DC: DOJ-BJS (US) 2005.• The National
Domestic Violence Hotline has received more than 1,000,000
calls for assistance since
February 1996.
Women whose
partners had been drinking were significantly more likely
to be injured than were women whose partners had not been drinking.
A woman’s own alcohol use was unrelated to victimization
outcomes. Citation: Marti Thompson and JB Kilgore, 2006. The Roles of Victim
and Perpetrator Alcohol Use in Intimate Partner Violence Outcomes.
Journal of interpersonal Violence 2006; 21 (2): 163-177.
When updated
to 2003 dollars, intimate partner violence costs exceed $8.3 billion,
which includes $460 million for rape, $6.2 billion
for physical assault, $461 million stalking and $1.2 billion
in the value of lives lost. Citation: Max W, Rice DP, Finkelstein, E, Bardwell RA, Leadbetter
S. The Economic Toll of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women
in the United States. Violence and Victims 2004; 19 (3): 259-272.
Victims of
intimate partner violence lose a total of nearly 8 million days of paid
work-the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time
jobs-and nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity each year as
a result of abuse. Citation: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control;
Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United
States.
Atlanta (GA): Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
2003.
Individuals who were physically punished
during childhood are more likely to engage in physical and verbal
aggression with their
spouses, individuals who were physically punished during childhood
are more
controlling with their spouses and individuals who were
physically punished during childhood are less able to take their
spouse’s
perspective. Citation: Alicia D. Cast, Schweingruber, David and Berns,
Nancy. Childhood Physical Punishment and Problem Solving
in Marriage.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2006; 21(2): 244-261.
Women
with a history of intimate partner violence report 60% higher rates
of health problems than do women with no history
of abuse. Citation: Campbell JC, Jones AS, Dienemann J, Kub J, Schollenberger
J, O’Campo P, et al. Intimate Partner Violence
and Physical Health Consequences. Archives of Internal
Medicine 2002; 162 (10):
1157-1163.
Women who experienced any level of physical
assault or sexual coercion by their intimate partners
(before or during pregnancy)
had higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to non-victims. Citation: Martin S., Li, Yun, Casanueva, C, Harris-Britt,
A., Kupper, L, Cloutier, S. Intimate Partner Violence
and Women’s Depression
Before and During Pregnancy. Violence Against Women
2006; 12 (3): 221-239.
Women residing at domestic violence
shelters were nearly 11 times
more likely to report that their partner had hurt
or killed pets than a comparison group of women who said they had
not experienced
intimate violence and that often their children
had witnessed the
abuse. Citation: Ascione, F, Weber C, Thompson T, Heath
J, Maruyama M, Hayashi K. Battered Pets and Domestic
Violence.
Violence
Against Women 2007;
13 (4): 354-373.
Abusive men who kill are generally
more conventional with respect to their childhood backgrounds,
education, employment
and criminal careers are more likely to be possessive and jealous and are
more likely to be separated from their partner at the time
of the event
but less likely to have been drunk at the time
of the event. Citation: Dobash RE, Dobash RP, Cavanagh K, Medina-Azia
J. Lethal and Nonlethal Violence Against an Intimate
Female Partner. Violence
Against Women 2007; 13 (4) 329-353.
