General

• Almost half (44%) of all incidents reported by women to the British Crime Survey were domestic abuse incidents. (British Crime Survey 1996, Home Office).
  
• Since 1981, the largest increase in violent crimes has been in incidents of domestic abuse (British Crime Survey 1996, Home Office.
  
• A survey of 1000 women in city centres in North England found that 1 in 8 women reported having been raped by their husbands or partners (Painter, K. (1991) Wife Rape and The Law Survey Report: Key Findings And Recommendations, Department of Social Policy & Social Work, University of Manchester).
• As many as 1 in 3 marriages that end in divorce involve Domestic abuse (Borkowski, Murch & Walker (1983) Marital Violence, Tavistock).
  
• Each year, 45% of female homicide victims are killed by present or former male partners compared to 8% of male victims. On average, 2 women per week are killed in the UK by their partners/ex-partners (Criminal Statistics (1992) Home Office)
  
• Repeat victimisation is common. Half of all victims of Domestic abuse are involved in incidents more than once (British Crime Survey 1996 Home Office).
  
• 60% of 127 women resident in refuges in Northern Ireland experienced violence during pregnancy. 13% lost their babies as a result (Monica McWilliams & Joan McKiernan (1993) Bringing it out into the open, Belfast HMSO).
  
• Domestic abuse often continues and may escalate in severity after separation. As many as one-third of women who leave refuges experience continued abuse and harassment from their ex-partners (Binney, Harkell & Nixon, (1988) Leaving Violent Men, Bristol: WAFE).
  
• Women are at greatest risk of homicide at the point of separation or after leaving a violent partner (Daly & Wilson (1988) Homicide, Aldane Gruyter).
  
• Domestic abuse is the least likely violent crime to be reported to the police. Only one out of three crimes resulting in injury are reported (British Crime Survey, 1996).
  
• Women who suffer domestic abuse are likely to under report incidents of abuse. In a study of 484 women's experiences of abuse in Surrey, 2 out of 3 women who defined themselves as victims of domestic abuse said they had not told family, friends or agencies about the abuse. (Dominy & Radford (1996) Domestic Abuse in Surrey, Surrey Social Services/ Roehampton Institute).
  
• Domestic abuse has a major impact upon the health and welfare of women and children world-wide. The 1995 World Development Report by the United Nations shows, that on a world scale, it is a significant cause of disability and death (Social Services Inspectorate (1996) Domestic Abuse and Social Care).
  
• On average a women is assaulted 35 times before seeking help from outside agencies. (Dobash & Dobash).
  
• 5% of health years of life are lost world-wide by women because of domestic abuse (Social Services Inspectorate, 1996).
  
• Domestic abuse is a factor in 1 in 4 suicide attempts by women (Stark, E. Flitcraft, A. & Frazier, W. (1979) Medicine And Patriarchal Violence: The Social Construction of A 'Private' Event, International Journal of Health Services, 9 (3) pp. 461-93).