Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States; more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. "Violence Against Women, A Majority Staff Report," Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 102nd Congress, October 1992, p.3.

Three to four million women in the United States are beaten in their homes each year by their husbands, ex-husbands, or male lovers. "Women and Violence," Hearings before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, August 29 and December 11, 1990, Senate Hearing 101-939, pt. 1, p. 12.

One woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds in the United States. Uniform Crime Reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1991.

Approximately 95% of the victims of domestic violence are women. Statistics, National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, Ruth Peachey, M.D. 1988.

Police report that between 40% and 60% of the calls they receive, especially on the night shift, are domestic violence disputes. Carrillo, Roxann "Violence Against Women: An Obstacle to Development," Human Development Report, 1990.

Fifty percent of all homeless women and children in this country are fleeing domestic violence. Senator Joseph Biden, U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Violence Against Women: Victims of the System, 1991.

A battering incident is rarely an isolated event. Battering tends to increase and become more violent over time. Men Stopping Violence, Observations from Intervention Classes.

Battered women may account for 22% to 35% of women seeking care for any reason in emergency departments and 23% of pregnant women seeking pre-natal care. 40 percent of assaults on women by their male partners begin during the first pregnancy; pregnant women are at twice the risk of battery. The American Medical Association's Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines on Domestic Violence

About 75% of the calls to law enforcement for intervention and assistance in domestic violence occur after separation from batterers. Half of the homicides of female spouses and partners were committed by men after separation from batterers. Barbara Hart, Remarks to the Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, April 1992

Domestic violence is not only physical and sexual violence but also psychological. Psychological violence means intense and repetitive degradation, creating isolation, and controlling the actions or behaviors of the spouse through intimidation or manipulation to the detriment of the individual. "Five Year State Master Plan for the Prevention of and Service for Domestic Violence." Utah State Department of Human Services, January 1994.