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Women age 16 to 24 are most vulnerable to intimate
partner violence, according to a new report
released by the U.S. Department of Justice’s
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Intimate
Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-99
provides statistical information on the prevalence
of domestic violence and the characteristics
of victims of abuse. The report examines victims’
age and gender, finding that women are more
likely to be victims of domestic violence than
men, and women in their late teens and early
twenties are more likely to experience abuse
than women of other ages.
“The report confirms
that domestic violence and domestic homicide
are primarily crimes against women, and that
young women are at great risk for domestic violence,”
said Family Violence Prevention Fund Executive
Director Esta Soler. “As a nation, we
need to allocate resources to stop teen dating
violence and ensure that comprehensive services
are available to every woman – regardless
of age – who is abused. We need a commitment
to educate girls about how to protect themselves
from relationship violence and to teach boys
that violence against girls and women is always
wrong.”
Intimate Partner Violence,
written by Callie Marie Rennison, PhD, is based
on the findings of the National Criminal Victimization
Survey (NCVS) data collected by the BJS and
homicide data collected by the FBI. The NCVS
collects information about crimes that are both
reported to the police and not reported, and
provides information on the frequency, characteristics
and consequences of criminal victimization.
Intimate Partner Violence
Intimate partner violence is
widespread, and women are the victims of abuse
more often than men are. In 1999, 671,110 women
were the victims of domestic violence, according
to Intimate Partner Violence. Eight-five percent
of all victims of intimate partner violence
were women, while 15 percent (120,100) were
men. Intimate partner violence against women
most often took the form of simple assault (66
percent), rape or sexual assault (14 percent),
or aggravated assault (10 percent).
Intimate Partner Violence notes
that between 1993 and 1999, there was a nationwide
decrease in crime. The rate of intimate violence
against women also declined, but to a lesser
extent, during the period. From 1993 to 1999,
intimate partner violence against women decreased
by 41 percent, from 1.1 million women in 1993
to 671,110 in 1999.
Intimate Partner Violence
and Age
The rates of intimate partner
violence “differ greatly” depending
on the age of the victim, according to the report.
Women between the ages of 16 and 24 are nearly
three times more vulnerable to intimate partner
violence (excluding intimate partner homicide)
than women in other age groups. In 1999, the
overall rate of intimate partner violence against
women was 5.8 victimizations per 1,000 women,
but the rate was 15.6 per 1,000 women for those
aged 16 to 24.
The higher rate of intimate
partner violence exists regardless of young
women’s marital status, notes Intimate
Partner Violence. Women between the ages of
20 and 24 were victimized at a higher rate than
older women, regardless of marital status. In
general, the report adds, women who are separated
experienced intimate partner violence at rates
“significantly higher” than women
in any other marital category. Separated women
age 20 to 34 had the highest average rates of
intimate partner violence of women in any age
group.
The pattern of younger women
being most vulnerable to victimization was consistent
across racial lines as well, Intimate Partner
Violence finds. The rate of intimate partner
violence peaked for both white and African American
women between the ages of 20 and 24. The rate
of intimate partner violence for Hispanic women
peaked between the ages of 16 and 34.
Intimate Partner Homicide
Male murder victims were “substantially
less likely” than female victims to have
been killed by an intimate partner, finds the
report. Intimate partner homicide accounted
for 32 percent of the murders of women in 1999
and approximately four percent of the murders
of men. In 1999, 1,642 people were killed by
intimates and three in four victims were women.
Of the victims, 74 percent (1,218) were female
and 26 percent (424) were male.
While women in their teens
and early twenties have the highest rate of
intimate partner violence, women between the
ages of 35 and 49 are “the most vulnerable”
to intimate partner homicide, according to the
report. Between 1993 and 1999, intimate partner
homicides made up 32 percent of the homicides
of women between the ages of 20 and 24, compared
with nearly 40 percent of the homicides of women
between the ages of 35 and 49. In 1999, women
in this age group were murdered by an intimate
partner at rates greater than women in any other
age group.
But the report notes that woman
between the ages of 20 and 34 also had high
rates of intimate partner homicide. Young women
(age 12 to 15) and women over age 50 experienced
the lowest homicide rates among females. However,
in every age category, women are more likely
than men to be murdered by an intimate partner.
Intimate Partner Violence is
available on the Bureau of Justice Statistics’
web site. Copies of the report also can be ordered
through the BJS clearinghouse number, 800/732-3277.
Source:
Intimate Partner Violence
http://www.endabuse.org
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