October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month began in 1981 and was created by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) as a means of bringing together battered womens' advocates across the country.
The NCADV defines domestic violence as "the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, threats, and emotional/psychological abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence varies dramatically."
Statistics:
- On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by a domestic partner in the United States, which is equal to over 10 million men and women per year.
- 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. This includes a range of behaviors and in some cases might not be considered "domestic violence."
- On a typical day, domestic violence hotlines nationwide receive over 20,000 calls.
- Intimate partner violence is most common among women ages 18-24.
- 19 percent of intimate partner violence involves a weapon.
https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/domestic_violence2.pdf
