Nearly One in Four Intimate Partner Violence Cases Involved a Child Witness

/PRNewswire/ -- A child witnessed violence in 22 percent of intimate partner violence cases filed in state courts, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, announced today. In another 14 percent of intimate partner violence cases, a child was present at the time of the incident but did not directly witness the violence.

Intimate partner violence includes violence between spouses, ex-spouses, common-law spouses and current or former boyfriends or girlfriends. Forty-six percent of intimate partner violence cases involved a defendant with a prior history of abuse toward the same victim, and the victim had reported prior violence to police in 24 percent of all cases. A direct witness to the violence was present in more than 40 percent of intimate partner violence cases.

Most intimate partner violence cases involved either aggravated (12 percent) or simple (78 percent) assault. Defendants were charged with intimidation (including stalking) in five percent of intimate partner violence cases, and another two percent were charged with rape or sexual assault. Most offenses occurred either at the victim's own residence (21 percent) or at a residence shared with the defendant (58 percent).

Twenty-six percent of defendants used a weapon during the incident. Female defendants (41 percent) were more likely than male defendants (24 percent) to use a weapon during an incident of intimate partner violence.

Eighty-nine percent of victims sustained an injury during the incident. Most injuries were of a less severe nature, while nine percent sustained severe injuries, such as gunshot and stab wounds, rape, severe lacerations and broken bones.

The majority of intimate partner violence cases (84 percent) involved a male defendant and a female victim, while twelve percent involved a female defendant and a male victim. The defendant and victim were the same gender in four percent of intimate partner violence cases. Cases with a male defendant and female victim were more likely than others to involve a history of abuse between victim and defendant. A child was also more likely to have witnessed the violence in these cases.

More than half of defendants charged with intimate partner violence were convicted. Cases in which the defendant made a formal statement for the record were twice as likely to result in conviction as those in which no statement was made. Other characteristics that increased the probability of conviction were the presence of a third-party witness to the incident and a documented history of abuse between the victim and the defendant.

This information comes from the BJS study, Processing of Domestic Violence Cases in State Courts, which used prosecutor files and court records to analyze 3,750 intimate partner violence cases. Case characteristics and outcomes of felony and misdemeanor intimate partner violence cases filed in state courts of 16 large urban counties during May 2002 were examined. Cases were tracked for one year following the defendant's first appearance in court.

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Schools Failing When It Comes to Bullying, Violence Prevention

/PRNewswire/ -- Key to a child's successful education is an environment in which he or she can learn safely. According to a report released today by the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, only 26 percent of parents would give their child's high school an "A" for preventing bullying and school violence, and 38 percent of parents would give their child's elementary or junior high an "A."

"Children who are victims of bullying can have serious health effects, including physical injuries and emotional problems such as depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and actions," says Matthew Davis, M.D., director of the poll and associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the U-M Medical School. "Unfortunately, in the United States, we've seen some tragedies in the past few years regarding episodes of school violence that have gotten a lot of media coverage and upset many parents."

In the U.S., an estimated 160,000 children miss school every day out of fear of attack or intimidation by other students, according to the National Education Association. Since 1992, there have been 250 violent deaths in schools, and bullying has been a factor in many school shootings.

"What this poll shows is that parents are still very concerned about bullying in their schools. About three-quarters of states nationwide have implemented bullying prevention laws that are designed to encourage, and in some cases force schools to present and deliver bullying prevention curriculum to students," says Davis, who is also an associate professor of public policy at the U-M Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. "But based on these findings, it doesn't appear that those curricula or programs are working effectively."

The poll asked 1,087 parents across the U.S. in May 2009 to assign their child's school an A through F grade in five categories: overall safety, building security, bullying and school violence prevention, keeping students safe during a school-wide emergency, and keeping parents informed in the event of a school-wide emergency.

Parents grades for other school safety concerns:

-- Overall safety: 59 percent of parents would give their child's primary
school an "A," while 33 percent of parents would give their child's
secondary school an "A."
-- Keeping parents informed in a school-wide emergency: 64 percent of
parents would give their child's primary school an "A," while 46
percent of parents would give their child's secondary school an "A."
-- Keeping their child safe during a school-wide emergency: 62 percent of
parents would give their child's primary school an "A," while 36
percent of parents would give their child's secondary school an "A."
-- Building security: 49 percent of parents would give their child's
primary school an "A," while 33 percent of parents would give their
child's secondary school an "A."

What parents can do

Parents who have concerns about bullying in their child's school can get involved in a few ways. Davis suggests parents become active in local safe school and safe community programs where bullying and violence prevention programs already exist.

In the few states where bullying prevention programs do not exist, Davis suggests parents get involved in the legislative process by advocating for bullying programs to be put in place using other states as examples.

"But right at home, there's a way for parents to make a difference too," he says. "Parents can listen to their kids who are their eyes and ears in the schools, especially about issues of bullying. It can be really hard for children to bring up the topic of bullying so parents may need to ask directly about it and make home a safe place to talk about this important problem."

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Dating Abuse Affects One in Five Teens

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Studies show that one in five teenagers in a serious dating relationship reports being physically abused by their partner. This issue is so serious that several states have passed laws specifically addressing teen dating abuse.

Hazelden Publishing, the leading publisher of evidence-based violence prevention programs for students in first grade through 12th grade, understands the significance of preventing dating violence and has published Safe Dates, the only evidence-based program that addresses this important issue. Safe Dates helps teens recognize the difference between caring, supportive relationships and controlling, manipulative, or abusive dating relationships.

"There are schools all over the United States that are implementing Safe Dates," said Sue Thomas, expert on prevention and anti-bullying products, Hazelden Publishing. "When implemented with fidelity, research shows that schools and community organizations can see a significant reduction in physical and sexual dating violence."

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), teens involved in an abusive dating relationship are more likely to do poorly in school and often engage in unhealthy behaviors, including drug and alcohol use.

Dr. Rodney Hammond, director of the CDC's division of violence prevention, stated, "Reducing dating abuse requires effective prevention tools that are scientifically based. Recognizing the lack of such tools, CDC funded the development of the Safe Dates program. We hope that the lessons learned from the program can be used by other communities in their efforts to prevent violence."

An ideal component to any middle or high school curriculum or community-based program, Safe Dates targets attitudes and behaviors associated with dating abuse and violence and works to change those attitudes and behaviors. Safe Dates was selected for the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), and received high ratings on all criteria.

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