Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence

A Guest Commentary By

J. J. Ray

The response by the person to your article about the black man that was beating his ex girl friend’s roommate was not racist. Truth is domestic violence is not racist. It does have gender. Most violence is directed against women because they are the most vulnerable. Today we are seeing women revolt and finally take up for themselves. The victims are becoming the victors. It is past time.

Ask any police officer about domestic abuse and they will tell you horror stories. The numbers are shocking and reaching epidemic proportions. Here are some facts:

One in four women (25%) has experienced domestic violence in her lifetime.
(The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The National Institute of Justice, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence, July 2000. The Commonwealth Fund, Health Concerns Across a Woman’s Lifespan: 1998 Survey of Women’s Health, 1999)

Estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend to 3 million women who are physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year. (U.S. Department of Justice, Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, March 1998. The Commonwealth Fund, Health Concerns Across a Woman’s Lifespan: 1998 Survey of Women’s Health, 1999)

Women accounted for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence, men for approximately 15%. (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003)

Between 600,000 and 6 million women are victims of domestic violence each year, and between 100,000 and 6 million men, depending on the type of survey used to obtain the data. Women ages 20-24 are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.

Women of all races are about equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner.
(Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, August 1995)

The health-related costs of intimate partner violence exceed $5.8 billion each year. Of that amount, nearly $4.1 billion are for direct medical and mental health care services, and nearly $1.8 billion are for the indirect costs of lost productivity or wages.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States, April 2003)

Gender trends: Women make up 3/4 of the victims of homicide by an intimate partner. Actually, 33% of all women murdered (of course, only cases which are solved are included) are murdered by an intimate partner. Women make up about 85% of the victims of non-lethal domestic violence. In all, women are victims of intimate partner violence at a rate about five times that of males.

Racial and Ethnic trends: Black women and men suffer from the highest rates of domestic violence. "Black females experienced domestic violence at a rate 35% higher than that of white females, and about 22 times the rate of women of other races. Black males experienced domestic violence at a rate about 62% higher than that of white males and about 22 times the rate of men of other races."

As one can see from the statistics, race does make a difference but that is not racism. It is our responsibility as a nation to stop the senseless waste of our women and men regardless of race. Think about it this way, one woman out of four who reads this article has been a victim or will be. That is not racist. That is tragic.

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The Chief of Police of Killen is a real gunslinger. No, that wasn't an insult. It seems that Mark Parker is a crack shot and president of the North Alabama Regulators where he goes by the moniker of Lawman Mark.

You can read about the Lawman at this link.

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