Elly Belly, Retardo, and Rotten

Facts on Violence Against Women

Ending violence against women and children is everyone's issue:

· Sexual Assault: Sexual assault includes forcible sexual contact, attempted rape and completed rape. Sexual assault affects children, women and men of all ages, races, and income levels. One in six women will experience rape. Half of the women who report rape are under the age of 18, 22% are under the age of 12. We need to dispel the dangerous myths that perpetuate violence—that women who dress provocatively are asking to be raped, that women secretly enjoy it, or that women often make false accusations. Sexual assault is a criminal act and inflicts life—long harm to girls' and women's mental and physical well-being.

· Child Abuse: Almost three million children are reported abused every year; troublingly, it is estimated that only a third of actual abuse cases are ever reported. Child abuse is tragic whether it is in the form of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect. The two most common contributing factors of child abuse are adult substance abuse and economic desperation. We must maintain and expand government programs that provide education, prevention, and victim services.

· Domestic Violence: Domestic violence is a pattern of violent or coercive behavior in which a partner seeks to control the thoughts, beliefs, or conduct of their intimate partner. Violent juvenile offenders are four times more likely to have witnessed violence in their homes. Domestic violence destroys families, harms women, and children, and devastates our communities.

· Gun Violence: Creating stricter gun laws will help in the fight to prevent violence against women and children. Guns do not prevent violence, but promote it. In 2000, for every woman who used a handgun to kill an intimate acquaintance in self-defense, 443 women were gunned down by an intimate acquaintance. Laws that are meant to prevent abusers from owning guns often fail because of loopholes, weak enforcement, and inconsistent regulations from state to state.

Source: 10 for Change