Domestic Violence Underreported Study Of Emergency Hospital Admissions Quadruples Number Of Incidents In Police Reports
Asserting that domestic violence is “seriously underreported,” the Justice Department released a study Sunday that found that a quarter of a million people were treated for injuries inflicted by an intimate partner in 1994 - four times more than previously estimated.
The study, by the department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, is likely to refocus national attention on an issue that had fallen out of the spotlight in the wake of an otherwise dramatic drop in violent crime in the nation over the past four years.
The new estimate of domestic violence, which is notoriously difficult to measure, was compiled by examining emergency hospital admissions rather than the more common but less precise practice of surveying police records or interviewing victims of violence.
Of the 1.4 million people treated for nonfatal injuries stemming from willful or suspected intentional acts of violence in 1994, almost half were injured by someone they knew. And about 243,000, or 17 percent, were treated for injuries inflicted by someone with whom they had had an intimate relationship - a spouse, former spouse or current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.
The 243,000 injuries were four times higher than the number reported in the Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey - an annual study that is the largest government survey after the national census.
Experts say the new study confirms that while America’s streets may be safer, much work remains to be done to curb violence in its homes, offices and schools.
“We are not surprised by the department’s figures,” said John Stein, deputy director of the National Organization for Victim Assistance, a Washington-based advocacy group. “There is a significant amount of frustration in the victims’ movement that efforts of public education do not appear to be producing significant progress.
“The initial promise that we saw in the increased use of arrests, protective orders and treatment (for batterers) in response to known cases of family violence, seems not to be getting the message across to significant numbers of abusers,” Stein added.
Among the incidents reported, a higher percentage of women than men were treated for injuries by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. Men were more likely than women to be treated for injuries caused by acquaintances and strangers.
Bruises and bumps accounted for slightly more than one-third of the 1.4 million injuries overall, and cuts, stab wounds or internal injuries comprised 31 percent.
When the location where the violent act took place was known, almost half (48 percent) occurred in someone’s home. Another 29 percent were in or near a store, an office or a factory and 4 percent occurred in or near a school.
Bonnie J. Campbell, director of the Justice Department’s Violence Against Women Office, said the new data indicate that government needs “to redouble our efforts to engage emergency room personnel in the battle to end domestic abuse” because police statistics and other survey methods often don’t uncover the full extent of the problem.
However, Campbell stopped short of endorsing nation-wide mandatory reporting of suspected domestic abuse cases by hospital personnel - as is required in some states. Campbell said such controversial rules can conflict with other rules protecting doctor-patient confidentiality and thus serve to confuse medical personnel and discourage reporting.
“I don’t think we are looking at anything mandatory on the federal level,” Campbell said. “But this data really underscores that health care providers are in a position to help out with early intervention with victims of abuse.”
xxxx INTIMATE VIOLENCE Of the 1.4 million people treated for nonfatal injuries stemming from willful or suspected intentional acts of violence in 1994, almost half were injured by someone they knew. And about 243,000, or 17 percent, were treated for injuries inflicted by someone with whom they had had an intimate relationship a spouse, former spouse or current or former boyfriend or girlfriend. The 243,000 injuries were four times higher than previously reported through police statistics.