Statistics & Facts

MCEDV publishes Domestic Abuse in Maine Data Project Book, which contains statistics. Data Project Book I (1991-1995) & Data Project Book II (1996-1999) can be purchased from MCEDV for $5.00. Data Project Book III (2000-2004) can be purchased from MCEDV for $8.00 or you can download the PDF file.

Conservative estimates suggest that only about half of aggravated and simple assaults are ever reported.

In Maine, the crime of Domestic Assault, as reported to police, occurs every 96 minutes. (Maine Department of Public Safety, Uniform Crime Report, 2005.)

Murders in Maine have risen from 21 total in 2007 to 29 thus far in 2008.  About 60% of the murders this year are a result of domestic violence, which is an increase from 38% in 2007 . (Maine Department of Public Safety, 2008 Homicide Report.) List of 2008 homicides to date.

Every year over 7,000 Maine women are physically or sexually assaulted by an intimate partner and over half of them (57%) are injured as a result of the violence. (Maine Center for Disease Control, 2008)

One in 20 new mothers in Maine report experiencing abuse during pregnancy.  70% of them were not trying to get pregnant when they conceived, and one-third of them were diagnosed with post-partnum depression, compared to 12% of women who were not victims of domestic violence. (Maine Center for Disease Control, 2008)

Nearly one-third of American women (31 percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. (The Commonwealth Fund, Health Concerns Across a Woman’s Lifespan: 1998 Survey of Women’s Health, May 1999.)

MCEDV SERVICE STATISTICS

In fiscal year 2008, 12,549 individuals were provided services and 25,069 shelter nights were provided. (MCEDV Service Statistics, 2008)

ONE DAY in Maine the nine member projects of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence:

• recieved a hotline call every 10 minutes.
• trained 255 people.
• provided emergency shelter or transistional housing to 213 victims of domestic violence.
• offered non-residential advocacy and services to 308 adults and children.

(Domestic Violence Counts: The National Census of Domestic Violence Services, A project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence. 2007)

VICTIMS/SURVIVORS

According to the US Department of Justice, nationally, when women are killed by someone, 33% of the time they are killed by an intimate partner. (US DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, February 2003.)

Intimate partner violence is primarily a crime against women. In 2001, women accounted for 85 percent of the victims of intimate partner violence. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003.)

Estimates of annual violence against men perpetrated by intimate partners (male or female) ranges from 5% to 15%. Male violence against women does much more damage than female violence against men; women are much more likely to be injured than men. (Straus, Murray A. and Richard J. Gelles, Physical Violence in American Families, 1990.)

64% of women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, and/or stalked since age 18 were victimized by a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, boyfriend, or date. (Full Report of the Prevalance, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000.)

1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetime. 81% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner. (Tjaden & Thoennes, Stalking in America, National Institute of Justice, 1998.)

1 in 3 teen relationships are abusive. (http://www.teenrelationships.org/statistics/stats.htm)

Women ages 16 to 24 experience the highest per capita rate of intimate partner violence. (Rennison, Callie Marie and Sarah Welchans. 2003. Intimate Partner Violence 1993-2001. U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. Washington, DC. Retrieved January 9, 2004. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/ipv01.htm.

Women of all races are about equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, August 1995. http://www.endabuse.org/resources/facts/)

Like all women, immigrant women are at high risk for domestic violence, but they may face a more difficult time escaping abuse. Immigrant women often feel trapped in abusive relationships because of immigration laws, language barriers, social isolation, and lack of financial resources. Abusers often use their partners’ immigration status as a tool of control. (http://www.endabuse.org/resources/facts/)

It is estimated there are 12,000 cases of elder abuse in Maine each year, only a fraction of which are reported. (Maine Attorney General’s Office)

Domestic violence occurs in approximately 25-33% of same-sex relationships. (NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, October 1996.)

Slightly more than half of female victims of intimate violence live in households with children under age 12. (U.S. Department of Justice, Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, March 1998.)

Forty percent of girls age 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend. (Children Now/Kaiser Permanente poll, December 1995. http://www.endabuse.org/resources/facts/)

OFFENDERS

There is limited research on domestic violence offenders.

Males perpetrate 95% of all serious domestic violence. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online. http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/)

It is estimated that 1 in 4 men will use violence against his partner in his lifetime. (Paymar, M., Violent no more: Helping men end domestic abuse. Alameda, CA: Hunter House Publications, 2000)

In 2003, the police reported that 95% of the people who domestically assaulted someone used their hands as a weapon. (Maine Department of Public Safety).

In a national survey of more than 6,000 American families, 50 percent of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children. (Strauss, Murray A, Gelles, Richard J., and Smith, Christine. 1990. Physical Violence in American Families; Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.)