New Survey Presents Snapshot of U.S. Domestic Violence Services

January 27, 2011

A new survey conducted by NNEDV reveals telling information about domestic violence services in the U.S.  On September 15, 2010 – one 24-hour period – domestic violence victim advocates served more than 70,000 adults and children and answered more than 20,000 emergency hotline calls. During the same 24 hours, more than 9,000 requests for services went unmet, largely due to lack of funding.

Though the economy does not cause domestic violence, factors associated with economic uncertainties can increase the severity and frequency of abuse.  At the same time, options for survivors to escape can be more limited.  More than 80 percent of local domestic violence programs reported an increased demand for their services while nearly the same number reported decreases in funding.

“The economy is exacerbating domestic violence, and victim advocates across the country are struggling to do more with less,” said Sue Else, president of NNEDV.  “Despite the immense challenges, local programs are providing life-saving services to so many survivors of domestic and sexual violence.”

Each year, NNEDV conducts a 24-hour survey of local domestic violence programs.  In addition to the number of victims served, more than 30,000 individuals attended 1,240 training sessions provided by local domestic violence programs to help prevent violence.

Across the nation on September 15, 2010, three women were murdered by their intimate partners.  Thirty-six babies were born to mothers living in domestic violence shelters.  Three-hundred-ninety-one survivors started new jobs. Three men committed suicide – one after murdering his wife, another after a failed attempt to kill his girlfriend, and the third after holding his partner hostage and a standoff with the police.

In 2010, 1,747 local domestic violence programs, or 91 percent, submitted their 24-hour counts for September 15.