 |
 |
hi all in re the recent discussions on anger and fear i have been asked a couple of times about the need for 'hot lines' to deal with family violence sadly the need is great and equally sadly in my eyes the problem is still not as 'out' as it needs to be it's sort of like pd it can happen to anyone regardless of race, creed, education, you-name-it it is a lot more common than is generally known because it is generally hidden behind a veil of shame and denial and ignorance here are a couple of worthy wwweb-sites with valuable resources: Domestic Violence Information Center <http://www.feminist.org/other/dv/dvhome.html> U.S. Department of Justice - Violence Against Women Office <http://www.usdoj.gov/vawo/> and here is a sample of the info available at the latter site: -------------------------------------------------- Who are the Victims? -------------------------------------------------- 1. Women were attacked about six times more often by offenders with whom they had an intimate relationship than were male violence victims. 2. Nearly 30 percent of all female homicide victims were known to have been killed by their husbands, former husbands, or boyfriends. In contrast, just over 3 percent of male homicide victims were known to have been killed by their wives, former wives, or girlfriends. 3. Husbands, former husbands, boyfriends, and ex-boyfriends committed more than 1,000,000 violent acts against women. 4. Family members or other people they knew committed more than 2,700,000 violent crimes against women. 5. Husbands, former husbands, boyfriends, and ex-boyfriends committed 26 percent of rapes and sexual assaults. 6. 45 percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by multiple offenders involve offenders they know. 7. The rate of intimate-offender attacks on women separated from their husbands was about 3 times higher than that of divorced women and about 25 times higher than that of married women. 8. Women of all races were equally vulnerable to attacks by intimates. 9. Female victims of violence were more likely to be injured when attacked by someone they knew than female victims of violence who were attacked by strangers. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey, August 1995 -------------------------------------------------- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE TDD for the Hearing Impaired: 1-800-787-3224 -------------------------------------------------- janet janet paterson - 51 now /41 dx /37 onset - almonte/ontario/canada <http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/members/janet/index.htm> [log in to unmask]