Why It Matters

Domestic Violence in the United States:

• Women are disproportionally affected by sexual violence, intimate partner violence (IPV) and stalking.[1] 
• Nearly 3 in 10 women in the U.S. have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.  The medical care, mental health services, and lost productivity (e.g., time away from work) costs of IPV constituted an estimated $5.8B in 1995, which equals $8.3B when updated to 2003.[2]
• According to the U. S Department of Justice, about 4 in 5 victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) were female from 1994 to 2010.  Most intimate partner violence was perpetrated against females.  In 1994, 85% of intimate partner violence victims were female and the remaining 15% were male.  These distributions remained relatively stable over time.[3]
• IPV resulted in 2,340 deaths in 2007; of these IPV victims, 70% were females.[4]

Domestic Violence in Georgia:

• Georgia is currently ranked 12th in the nation for rate of men killing women.
• IPV is a leading cause of injury for girls and women between the ages of 15 and 44.
• Children were in the vicinity during a homicide in 43% of cases, reviewed, and actually witnessed the homicide in 19% of the cases (GA Fatality Review Project).
• IPV along with substance abuse and mental illness are three major underlying problems in abuse and neglect cases petitioned in the Juvenile Court. These problems, particularly IPV are often not identified at the time children are removed to foster care. (Judge Peggy Walker, Juvenile Court of Douglas County).
• According to the latest CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS), Georgia ranks as the worst state in the nation for teens experiencing dating violence: One in sixteen respondents to the YRBS (16%) indicates he or she has experienced some form of this abuse.[5] GA respondents were more likely than the U.S. population to report being hit.
• Georgia is seeing increasing numbers of Domestic Violence fatalities since 2008.
• In 2012, law enforcement responded to 72, 870 DV incidents in Georgia [6]
• Between 2009 and 2011, Family Violence incidents rose while violent crime rates decreased; reported rates of DV increased, but numbers of arrests decreased.[7]
• In 2013:
  • 58,955 crisis calls were made to Georgia’s certified Domestic Violence agencies.[8]
  • Survivors and children occupied 248,463 bed nights in DV shelters; 4,612 victims were turned away for lack of space.[9]
  • 29,779 adult and child victims were served by Georgia’s certified Domestic Violence agencies. [10]
• In 2013 there were 61 victims killed in Domestic Violence related homicides in the State of Georgia.

Domestic Violence in Cherokee County:

In 2013:

• There were 3,331 Domestic Violence related calls to law enforcement in Cherokee County.
• There were 1,310 crisis calls made to our 24-Hour Hotline.
• CFVC sheltered 87 women and children in our shelter who occupied 4,171 bed nights.
• The CFVC shelter operated at 95.2% capacity for the entire year.
• CFVC served 82 women and 140 children through our Supportive Housing Program.
• CFVC provided legal and crisis services to 386 community victims of Domestic Violence.
• CFVC provided 24,242 services to victims of Domestic Violence and their children.
• CFVC served women from 14 different countries though our Multicultural Program.
• There were no Domestic Violence related deaths in Cherokee County.
• In total, CFVC served 2,056 clients in 2013.

Information on statistics from past years can be viewed in other locations on our website.