ILLINOIS STATISTICS

According to the Southern Illinois Violence Prevention Center, battered women accounts for no less than:

  • 22 to 35 percent of women seeking care for any reason in emergency departments.
  • 23% of pregnant women seeking prenatal care.
  • 45 to 59 percent of mothers of abused children.
  • 58% of women over 30 years old who have been raped .

The Governor’s Commission on the status of Women in Illinois reports:

  • Roughly 300,000 women are battered each year.
  • In 2001, the Illinois State Police recorded approximately 95,000 Domestic. violence offenses representing an 18.5% increase over the year 2000 statistics.
  • 85% percent of non-family related domestic crimes are accounted for by a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.

In the City of Chicago in the year 2000:

  • The Office of Emergency Communications received over 205,000 domestic violence calls.
  • Chicago Police arrested over 13,000 people for domestic battery.
  • They reported 6,000 violations of an order of protection.
  • There were 48 domestic violence homicides.
  • Chicago averaged one domestic violence homicide a weeks.
  • 1/3 of all female murder victims are killed by intimates compared to just 4% of male murder victims.

Every 15 seconds in the U.S. a woman is beaten.

Domestic Violence results in more injuries that require medical attention than rape, accidents and mugging combined.
Two in five women who are murdered, are killed by their husbands.
At least 95% of all cases of partner abuse involve a man beating a woman.
Domestic violence happens in all cultures, religions, and classes. Level of income and education are not factors.
Violence in the home usually becomes more frequent and severe over time.
Children who grow up in violent homes come to believe that violence is normal. They come to believe that it is an acceptable way to control someone else. The majority of adult violent prisoners witnessed domestic violence as children.
34% of Latinas in the City of Chicago have experienced Domestic violence (a study completed in 2001 by the UIC Center for Urban Economic Development, “Chicago’s Undocumented Immigrants: An analysis of Wages, Working Conditions, and Economic Contributions.”)