From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet
NEWS Service-Tuesday, August 26, 1997-Vol. 1 - 238
SOBERING JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REPORT
ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
By Paul Anderson, ERRI Analyst
According to a new U.S. Justice Department report that was
released on Sunday, almost half of the 1.4 million victims of
violence or suspected violence treated in hospital emergency
rooms in 1994 were hurt by someone they knew. The study found
that 17 percent of the victims, about 243,000 people, suffered
injuries inflicted by someone with whom they had an intimate
relationship -- a spouse, former spouse or a current or former
boyfriend or girlfriend.
Bonnie J. Campbell, the director of the Department of Justice,
Violence Against Women Office, said that the findings provide
"sobering proof" that domestic violence is seriously
under-reported.
According to the report, among the victims of violence by spouses
or ex- spouses, seven percent of the total, women victims
outnumbered men nine- to-one. Nearly ten percent of the 1.4
million victims of violence were injured by a boyfriend or
girlfriend, and women were almost eight times more likely than
men to fall into this category.
The study found that relatives, such as a parent or child, were
the attackers in eight percent of the cases, while nearly a
quarter, or 23 percent of the victims, were hurt by friends or
acquaintances. Another 23 percent were injured by strangers. No
relationship between assailant and victim was recorded in 30
percent of the cases, which could include additional cases of
domestic abuse and other attacks by people known to the victim.
In a statement, Campbell said, "I am encouraged that the
medical profession is taking a greater role in addressing
domestic violence. But this report makes it clear that more must
be done. We need to redouble our efforts to engage emergency room
personnel in the battle to end domestic abuse."
Campbell is working with the American Medical Association and
other medical organizations to develop procedures for emergency
room physicians on how to handle cases of suspected abuse. The
procedures could be ready by late fall.
The new report's estimates of violent crimes treated in emergency
rooms was four times higher than estimates of such victims as
measured by a separate survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics
-- the National Crime Victimization Survey. However, the Justice
Department said the jump mostly results from a change in
methodology, not a real increase.
The National Crime Victimization Survey, for example, relies on
the victims' ability and willingness to reveal in interviews
attacks by people they know, including those by family members.
The survey regularly uncovers many more incidents of crime than
those included in the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Reports, which
is limited to offenses reported to police. But Sunday's released
study includes victims who might have been reluctant to tell even
the survey's interviewers about their assaults.
Nearly all of the victims, or 94 percent of the 1.4 million, were
injured during assaults. Five percent were injured during rapes
or sexual assaults and 2 percent were hurt during robberies.
About five percent of those treated for violence-related injuries
were children under the age of 12. Nearly 22,000 children were
treated because of a suspected or actual rape or sexual assault.
(c) Copyright, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, 1997. All Rights
Reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited by law.
The ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT is a subscription publication
of the EmergencyNet NEWS Service, which is a part of the
Chicago-based Emergency Response and Research Institute. This
publication specializes in Law Enforcement/Fire/EMS/Disaster and
Medical Issues.
Emergency Response and Research Institute
6348 N Milwaukee Ave, Suite 312, Chicago, Illinois 60646 USA
773-631-ERRI Voice/Voice Mail
773-631-4703 Fax
773-631-3467 Computer/Modem - EMERGENCY BBS
Internet e-mail: sysop@emergency.com
WWW page: http://www.emergency.com
Telnet: emergency.com