NATIONAL STATISTICS

• On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.1
• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.1
• 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.1
• 1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed.1
• On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.9
• The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.10
• Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.2
• Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner.2
• 19% of domestic violence involves a weapon.2
• Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior.2
• Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.2

RAPE

• 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States has been raped in their lifetime.1
• Almost half of female (46.7%) and male (44.9%) victims of rape in the United States were raped by an acquaintance. Of these, 45.4% of female rape victims and 29% of male rape victims were raped by an intimate partner.11

STALKING

• 19.3 million women and 5.1 million men in the United States have been stalked in their lifetime.1 60.8% of female stalking victims and 43.5% men reported being stalked by a current or former intimate partner.11

HOMICIDE

• A study of intimate partner homicides found that 20% of victims were not the intimate partners themselves, but family members, friends, neighbors, persons who intervened, law enforcement responders, or bystanders.3
• 72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; 94% of the victims of these murder suicides are female.8

CHILDREN AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

• 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.5

ECONOMIC IMPACT

• Victims of intimate partner violence lose a total of 8.0 million days of paid work each year.6
• The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $8.3 billion per year.6
• Between 21-60% of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs due to reasons stemming from the abuse.6
• Between 2003 and 2008, 142 women were murdered in their workplace by their abuser, 78% of women killed in the workplace during this timeframe.4

PHYSICAL/MENTAL IMPACT

• Women abused by their intimate partners are more vulnerable to contracting HIV or other STI’s due to forced intercourse or prolonged exposure to stress.7
• Studies suggest that there is a relationship between intimate partner violence and depression and suicidal behavior.7
• Physical, mental, and sexual and reproductive health effects have been linked with intimate partner violence including adolescent pregnancy, unintended pregnancy in general, miscarriage, stillbirth, intrauterine hemorrhage, nutritional deficiency, abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal problems, neurological disorders, chronic pain, disability, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Victims of domestic violence are also at higher risk for developing addictions to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.7

Rita Smth was watching football in 2009 when she noticed — as if it were possible not to — that the players were newly outfitted in pink socks and gloves. Her heart sank. “I was pretty sure we were toast,” she says. “There was no way we were ever gonna match them.”

Smith is executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which also claims October as its awareness-raising month. The signature color is purple, not that you’ll find it on Yoplait lids or KFC buckets or Energizer batteries or, for that matter, NFL players, because October is already covered in pink. Breast cancer is, as many critics have pointed out, the perfect issue for corporate-funded cause marketing. It’s got an unambiguous villain (CANCER) and a natural constituency (women). Saving boobies is a friendly cause that everyone — even frat boys and NFL players — can get behind. A straightforward health issue. 

By comparison, domestic violence is downright controversial. It touches on complicated issues like power, rape culture, victim-blaming, and gender roles, and stirs up uncomfortable emotions. While few people would claim they support abusers, many known perpetrators of domestic violence — from Roman Polanski to Chris Brown to a number of football players — remain venerated cultural figures. Is it any wonder that, even though domestic violence affects many more women and families, breast cancer is the issue we’ve all come to associate with October? Every year 232,340 women are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer; 1.3 million areassaulted by their husbands or boyfriends. One in eight women will suffer from breast cancer in her lifetime. One in four will experience domestic violence. Good luck finding that statistic on a yogurt lid this month.

The anti-domestic-violence movement staked its claim to October way back in 1981. “At that time breast cancer wasn’t on anybody’s radar screen the way it is now, so we got a lot of traction and visibility, and it worked for us for a really long time,” Smith says. “And then it didn’t.” The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation had been around since 1982, but its pink-ribbon campaign didn’t really start taking off until the late nineties. And then it became a powerhouse. In fact, after seeing even the NFL turn pink four years ago, Smith made a plea to her fellow advocates to move to a different month, but couldn’t get a strong consensus. “It’s stayed in October," she says, “and we get the visibility we can get, knowing that we’re probably not going to be seen above the pink.”

In theory, nothing’s preventing corporations from supporting both breast-cancer survivors and battered women. But “we’ve seen corporations that have typically supported domestic violence shift more and more funds to breast cancer,” says Katie Ray-Jones of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. And that’s happened even as critics have raised questions about how Komen and its ilk are spending those funds.

“I don’t think that it needs to be thought of as a competitive situation,” says Andrea Rader, a spokeswoman for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “The breast-cancer movement took off because, just like for people who are victims of domestic abuse, there was a time when nobody talked about this disease. The reason that it’s getting so much attention is that so many people are affected." She notes that when Komen CEO Nancy Brinker first started this work, corporations were reluctant to associate themselves with a disease. “Cause marketing was pretty much in its infancy,” Rader says.These days, Komen has more than 60 corporate partnerships.

In contrast, “we don’t have corporations that are lining up to say, ‘I want to give to domestic violence,’” Ray-Jones says. “Companies do not want to associate with it.” A handful of major corporations (Verizon, Mary Kay, Allstate, Avon) have consistently donated. But domestic violence as a cause can be a tough sell for corporate America — just as it is for the average consumer, who too often assumes relationship violence is a “he said, she said” situation. And even when anti-violence groups do manage to snag corporate money and celebrity endorsements, they tend to spend those resources on serious PSAs — like a new campaign called No More or a social-media effort called “How I See DV” (#seeDV) — rather than on upbeat, color-coded marketing.

The closest the domestic-violence community has come to mimicking Komen’s beribboned consumerism is the Allstate Foundation’s Purple Purse, a public-awareness campaign disguised as an online shopping experience that focuses attention on the fact that many women don’t leave their abusive partners because they’re financially dependent. This strikes me as smart: A purple purse is symbolically removed from the issue enough that it feels safe for the corporate world. I can imagine little purple purses on mascara or cereal boxes. It’s much harder to picture a “How I See Domestic Violence” testimonial in such spaces. Advertising, after all, is aspirational.

The ubiquity of Pinktober proves that consumers are capable of linking a simple color or a jokey rubber bracelet with a deadly serious issue. This is what we call “awareness.” And while many have argued that increased awareness won’t necessarily cure cancer (or even save lives), it would go a long way toward helping victims of abuse feel less ashamed and isolated — and encourage them to reach out for help. “What I think that says to a victim is that people care about me. People care that I’m in danger. People aren’t trying to sweep it under the rug,” Ray-Jones says. After all, with an issue like domestic violence, public awareness is half the battle. Ray-Jones cites a recent study that found that 79 percent of adults had never had anyone talk to them about domestic violence.

It’s not outrageous to think that, with a little bit of corporate backing, the color purple could become a shorthand for “domestic violence is not okay” — and that such a campaign could make a massive difference in saving women’s lives. It is probably, however, a bit outrageous to think that such a campaign is possible in October. This month is already spoken for.

It’s also National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. And you don’t hear much about that unless you’re “in the industry” for the most part.

Domestic violence should be getting a lot more attention.  I think it will over time as my colleagues and I continue to pursue advocacy, education and resolution to this social ill.

And it is an “ill”. Certainly a social one; and in many ways a mental one.  It’s complex and comes in numerous forms, the causes of which are many.  Similar, metaphorically speaking that is, to breast cancer.

How about we make a few more comparisons, because it may help you to realize how prevalent domestic violence is and how desperately we need to end it.

Comparison #1

How many women get breast cancer?

The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2010 says that there will be about 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women.

The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is a little less than one in eight.

How many women will “get” domestic violence?

Yet the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence says one in every four womenwill experience domestic violence in her lifetime.

An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.

85% of domestic violence victims are women.

Comparison #2

Deaths from breast cancer:

About 39,840 deaths from breast cancer (women)

Deaths from domestic violence:

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s web site shows almost one-third of female homicide victims that are reported in police records are killed by an intimate partner.

And the Family Violence Prevention Fund reports; on average more than three women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States.

Comparison #3

Breast Cancer Treatment

According to Cedars Sinai : The choice of treatment depends on the patient’s age and general health and the type and stage of cancer. The stage is determined by the size of the tumor and whether it is localized in the breast, has reached the lymph nodes of the armpit (axilla) or has spread (metastasized) to the liver, brain, lungs or bones.

A woman diagnosed with breast cancer has to take the expertise from her oncologist and listen to her own instincts when choosing treatment.  It boils down to a woman has to decide for herself; is she willing to be aggressive with chemotherapy, surgery, or oral medicines.  There are a lot of choices – and it’s frightening to decide.  She can only do it when she’s ready – although sooner is far better than later.

Domestic Violence “Treatment”

When a woman finally comes to terms with the fact that she’s a victim of intimate partner abuse she’s offered choices.  They may consist of counseling, legal assistance, shelters, Orders of Protection (or injunctions), hotlines to call, advocates to speak with, workplace assistance e.g. schedule or location changes, friends to talk with and so on.  There are a lot of choices – and it’s frightening to decide.  She can only do it when she’s ready – although sooner is far better than later.

Sound familiar?

Comparison #4

Workplace costs
CDC says of BC:  Maintaining a healthier workforce can lower direct costs such as insurance premiums and worker’s compensation claims. It will also positively impact many indirect costs such as absenteeism and worker productivity.

(Isn’t that the same thing we say of DV?)

Domestic Violence

(FVPF) The annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence is estimated as $727.8 million,

with over 7.9 million paid workdays lost each year.

The costs of intimate partner violence exceed $5.8 billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for

direct medical and mental health care services, xii much of which is paid for by the employer.

Comparison #5

No one wants to talk about “it”.

According to an interview I once read of Nancy Brinkman, the Founder of the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure, when her late sister, Susan, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in the early 1980’s, ect.  the subject was so taboo that people would even avoid he sister in grocery stores thinking they would “catch it”.

Now we can talk about it.  We know it’s not contagious.