Men are the more common perpetrators of domestic
violence and women are usually the victims; however, men can be and are victims
of domestic violence.
Common myths about domestic violence:
MYTH #1: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AFFECTS ONLY A SMALL
PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION AND IS RARE.
MYTH #2: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OCCURS ONLY IN POOR,
UNEDUCATED AND MINORITY FAMILIES.
MYTH #3: THE REAL PROBLEM IS COUPLES WHO ASSAULT
EACH OTHER. WOMEN ARE JUST AS VIOLENT AS MEN.
MYTH #4: ALCOHOL ABUSE CAUSES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
MYTH #5: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS USUALLY A ONE TIME,
ISOLATED OCCURRENCE.
MYTH #6: MEN WHO BATTER ARE OFTEN GOOD FATHERS
AND SHOULD HAVE JOINT CUSTODY OF THEIR CHILDREN IF THE COUPLE SEPARATES.
MYTH #7: WHEN THERE IS VIOLENCE IN THE FAMILY,
ALL MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE DYNAMIC, AND THEREFORE, ALL
MUST CHANGE FOR THE VIOLENCE TO STOP.
MYTH #8: BATTERED WOMEN ARE MASOCHISTIC AND
PROVOKE THE ABUSE. THEY MUST LIKE IT OR THEY WOULD LEAVE.
MYTH #9: MEN HAVE A RIGHT TO DISCIPLINE THEIR
PARTNERS FOR MISBEHAVING. BATTERING IS NOT A CRIME.
MYTH #1O:
Domestic violence is not a
problem in my community.
MYTH #11:
Some people deserve to be hit.
MYTH #12:
Domestic violence is a "loss of control."
MYTH #13:
Once a battered woman, always
a battered woman.
Some of the harsh realities:
In New York State, 58%
of people in prison as of January 1, 2008 had been convicted of a violent felony
crime. Most women in custody have traditionally been committed for drug crimes,
while most men are committed for violent offenses. However, in 2006 the largest
percentage of females convicted of crimes (38%), were convicted for violent
offenses followed by drug offenses (33%). The majority (61%) of homicide
victims in 2005 were males. Among the female homicide conviction in 2005, a
third (33%) kill someone they were close to other than their children; among
that number 67% had experienced prior abuse (defined as physical abuse sometime
other than immediately before the incident) at the hand of the victim.
Research also shows that:
·
One in every
six homicide victims known to police in 2007 had a domestic relationship with
their offenders (135 of 800 total victims).
·
In 2007, 72
intimate partners were victims of homicide, accounting for more than half the
State’s 135 domestic homicides.
·
Females were
victims in 81% of the 72 intimate partner homicides in the State
· In NYC, most of
the victims of intimate partner homicide were black. However, in the rest of
the State, whites accounted for three-quarters of intimate partner victims.
·
Hispanics were
victims in one-quarter of intimate partner homicides in NYC.
Other facts about homicides in New York State show:
·
Females were
more likely to be victims of domestic homicide than all other homicides. Of 157
female homicide victims Statewide, more than half (55%) had a domestic
relationship to their offender, according to police reports. In NYC, nearly 60%
of homicides of females were domestic homicides, compared to 51% in the rest of
the State.
·
Female victims
accounted for 64% of 135 domestic homicides Statewide in 2007. The proportion
of female domestic homicides in NYC was 67%, slightly higher than in the rest of
the State (62%).
· Across the
state, a total of 81% of intimate partner homicide victims were female (58 of
72). Female intimate partner homicide occurred more frequently in NYC (34) than
in the rest of the State (24). Moreover, female intimate homicide victims made
up 47% of NYC’s domestic homicides compared to 38% in jurisdictions outside NYC.
The circumstances
leading to these homicides show that:
· A domestic
dispute or altercation was reported by police as the leading circumstance in 62%
of domestic homicides Statewide (84 of 135). This compares to one-third of all
other homicides where the circumstances involved a dispute or altercation.
·
In 8 out of 10
intimate partner homicides, the most common circumstance was a domestic dispute
or altercation. In NYC, this type of situation characterized more than 95% of
these homicides.
· Among domestic
homicides, firearms were the primary weapon type used against 45 victims,
accounting for one-third of these deaths Statewide. This compares with 63% of
all homicides where firearms caused or contributed to the deaths of 502
individuals in the State.
· In intimate
partner homicides, guns were used against 33 victims across the state,
contributing to 46% of these deaths. Guns were involved in the deaths of 20 NYC
intimate partner victims and 13 victims in other jurisdictions, accounting for
48% and 43% of all such homicides in these respective regions.
· Non-gun weapons
contributed to the deaths of 90 victims of domestic homicide Statewide. Non-gun
weapons in domestic homicide included: knives, other cutting instruments, and
blunt objects (27%); personal or miscellaneous weapons (20%); as well as
homicides where the weapon was unknown or reported unknown by the police (20%).
Regionally, non-gun weapons were used in 73% of domestic homicides outside NYC
and 61% in the NYC region.
