13 Facts About Domestic Abuse That Will Open Your Mind To How Big The Problem Is
80 percent of people have suffered mental abuse, nearly a third of people have suffered domestic violence, sexual abuse is ripe, and much more
A massive problem with the modern world is the sheer enormity of the domestic abuse problem. Here are thirteen facts that show just how big the problem is.
Nearly a third of people have been victims of domestic violence
The consensus from countless studies and research is that between 30 and 35 percent of women have been physically assaulted by an intimate partner, and between 25 and 30 percent of men have been.
In terms of the heterosexual scene versus the LGBTQ, there is not a great deal of research but there have been studies, for example, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence found that approximately one-third of those who have been in a same-sex relationship report having been victims of domestic violence while in a same-sex relationship. However, there were slightly more victims in male-male relationships.
This means overall men are more likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence than women even without the size difference. In terms of age ranges for physical abuse, women are more likely than men to face it in all age ranges, but the gap is narrowing in all age ranges.
Female perpetrators tend to use higher levels of force, but male perpetrators tend to use force more often
Repeated data from the UK government which analyses the state of domestic abuse in the country, has shown that male victims typically report higher levels of force having been used against them than female victims — 45 to 50 percent of men report their partner using high levels of force versus 25 to 30 percent of women. This data apes similar data from around the world. However, it should be noted that male perpetrators tend to be violent more often.
So, when female perpetrators are violent, they tend to be extremely forceful with that violence more often than not. Male perpetrators tend to be less so, but are typically violent more often.
It’s believed the difference in the level of force typically used is due to the difference in the sizes of men and women. So, because women are typically smaller than men, they do not hold back. But because men are bigger than women, they don’t need to be as forceful to do harm.
15 to 25-year-olds are the biggest perpetrators and victims of domestic violence
Those between the ages of 15 and 25 are by far more likely to be both perpetrators and victims of domestic violence than all other age groups.
It’s believed that this is for twofold reasons, firstly, younger people are less in control of their emotions and so are more prone to lashing out, and secondly, younger people are less experienced in avoiding people who are not in control of their emotions.
This is why many are calling for youngsters to be provided stronger education when it comes to managing their emotions, and more importantly, in regards to how to avoid people who are not in control of their emotions.
Upwards of 80 percent of people have suffered emotional abuse from a partner
When it comes to emotional abuse, numerous studies have found that somewhere between 50 and 80 percent of people will probably suffer emotional abuse from their partner at some point over their lifetime, with men being slightly more likely to suffer from it than women.
In terms of the different types of emotional abuse, a study by Carney and Barner (2012) for The Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Project found that 40 percent of women and 32 percent of men reported suffering expressive aggression, 41 percent of women and 43 percent of men reported suffering from coercive control. Also, when it comes to psychological aggression, 48.4 percent of women and 48.8 percent of men reported having been on the receiving end of it.
The reason why it’s believed that women are slightly more likely to be a perpetrator of emotional abuse than men is argued by some to be down to the fact that women are more likely to have a higher level of emotional intelligence, giving them an edge when it comes to emotional abuse. Others argue that the difference in levels of emotional abuse by men and women is so small that it is statistically irrelevant.
Older men are more likely to suffer emotional abuse than older women — and younger men are more likely to suffer emotional abuse than younger women
When it comes to those over the age of 50, women are reported to be less likely to suffer emotional abuse than men, also, younger men are reported to suffer the highest level of emotional abuse of all — some argue this is because younger men are typically the least emotionally developed amongst the adult world, which puts them at higher risk. Others argue it’s because society tends to put a lot into trying to protect younger women but does not do the same with younger men.
In terms of why older men appear to suffer more emotional abuse than older women, it is believed to be linked to men’s waning physical advantage i.e. because men have been typically protected by their physical advantage they have not built up as powerful mental defences as women. So, they are simply less skilled at avoiding it.
However, middle-aged women are more likely to suffer emotional abuse than middle-aged men.
The older we get, the lower the chances are we will enter an abusive relationship — but there is one caveat
When it comes to abuse, the older we get the lower the chances are we will find ourselves being abused. This is because as we get older inevitably we are not only better at avoiding abuse and exiting it if we see the signs of it, but people are less likely to be abusive when they are older because they are more likely to be able to manage and control their emotions.
However, the trend is not a perfect downward trajectory, middle-aged women are typically more likely to suffer abuse than women in the age bracket below them (this is a common trend across all forms of abuse, typically the older we get the less likely it is we will suffer abuse, but in women, there is a sharp spike upwards between the ages 35 and 44 which drops again sharply afterwards and returns to the gradual decline).
So, the older we get typically the less likely we are to be abused, except for a spike by women between the ages of 35 and 44. It’s postulated by many that the reason there is a spike amongst women in this age range is that women in this age range, who have not had children but want them, become more desperate to find a partner, which puts them at greater risk of being taken in by an abusive partner.
Up to 8 percent of women and 3 percent of men report being victims of stalking
Women are believed to be 3 times more at risk from stalking than men, with 6 to 8 percent of women reporting stalking as a problem, but only 2 to 3 percent of men doing the same.
Some argue that the reason for the big difference is that men are less likely to report obsessive behaviour, but also more likely to be accepting of it and even to embrace it. To go with this, it is also argued by many that male obsessive behaviour is more likely to become extreme than female.
All in all, it’s unknown whether men or women are more likely to show obsessive and stalker-like behaviours, or whether they are equally as likely, but it is known that such behaviour is more likely to become a problem when a man is doing it to a woman than vice versa.
Emotional turbulence is believed to be the primary cause of domestic abuse
The consensus is that the majority of relationship abuse is the result of a partner who cannot regulate their emotions, especially feelings such as hurt, sadness and fear. It is postulated that the less able a person is to manage these emotions, the greater the danger they will turn to domestic abuse.
This is why it’s believed that there are such high levels of abuse amongst younger people, specifically between the ages of 15 and 25. Those in this age range typically suffer high levels of emotional turbulence, specifically around regulating their feelings of hurt, sadness and fear, and so are far more prone to both risky actions and lashing out at partners both verbally and physically.
Many argue that this is why schools should specifically teach children how to manage feelings such as hurt, sadness and fear. It’s argued by many that specifically focusing on educating children on how to manage these emotions, and from a young age, would likely reduce the levels of abuse seen in modern society.
Women are more likely to die as a result of domestic abuse than men
In the UK, between the years of 2017 and 2019, of the 357 victims of domestic homicide, 274 of them were female while 83 were men. In terms of suspected perpetrators, when the female was the victim, 96 percent of the perpetrators were male. When the male was the victim, it was split evenly between male and female perpetrators.
Globally speaking, it is a similar story, and it’s believed that upwards of 50,000 women die each year due to domestic homicide with upwards of 10,000 men. The majority of the perpetrators are male. So, men are the biggest perpetrators of domestic homicide, and by a distance.
Note: some argue the figures for domestic homicide may be higher, with some arguing many unexplained partner deaths may be the result of domestic homicide. If this were true, there would be a lot more victims out there.
Nobody knows how many people commit suicide because of domestic abuse — it is likely a lot
When it comes to suicides caused by domestic abuse, the figures are impossible to work out, mainly because suicides are rarely linked to domestic abuse due to how difficult it is to link them to domestic abuse.
Some argue that tens of thousands across the globe potentially commit suicide every year due to domestic abuse, with it being argued that the likelihood is that more men commit suicide as a result of domestic abuse than women.
However, it should be noted that the argument for this is based solely upon the fact that men are substantially less likely to talk about domestic abuse, are far more likely to be shamed because of it, and are substantially more likely to commit suicide overall.
That means the reality is nobody has any idea what the figures are for this silent killer, all that can be said is that it is likely substantial.
Rape is highly prolific in modern relationships
It’s believed that 1 in 20 women will be raped over their lifetime, with the figure for men being somewhere between 1 in 40 and 1 in 50, though some estimate the number may be as high as 1 in 30. The difficulty with the male figure is men are believed to be over ten times less likely to report sexual violence than women, with some estimates putting the figure for rape likely at upwards of 20 times less likely.
Intimate partners are believed to be the guilty party in the vast majority of rapes of both men and women, with 80 to 90 percent of male victims typically reporting a female as the perpetrator and upwards of 95 percent of female victims reporting a male as the perpetrator.
To go with that, a 2012 study which looked at data from the U. S. Census Bureau’s nationally representative National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, found in a sample of 43,000 adults, that of those who had admitted to forcing a person to have sex with them against their will, 43.6 percent were female, and 56.4 percent were male.
That means there are a lot of male and female rapists, with some estimating that globally there are likely upwards of 150 million female rapists and upwards of 250 million male rapists.
That would mean that there are likely upwards of 400 million or more rapists on the planet, and the majority of those rapists prey on their partners.
Sexual violence is scarily prevalent in the modern world of relationships and dating
It is believed that 1 in 3 women will suffer sexual harassment and/or violence of some sort over their lives, and 1 in 6 men will, with again the majority likely to suffer that harassment and/or violence from an intimate partner.
That means globally when it comes to sexual harassment and violence, it is believed that there are likely upwards of 1 billion perpetrators, with the split between men and women being 60/40. Though some estimate that these figures are an undershoot, others an overshoot, while all agree that the numbers are increasing.
However, what people cannot agree upon is whether they are increasing because more people are reporting it or whether they are increasing because they are literally increasing.
One thing is well known, the age range with the most perpetrators and victims is again 15 to 25, and university students are believed to be 5 times more likely to be victims and perpetrators than those who don’t go to university.
Also, on-campus studies typically show that 85 to 95 percent of male victims report a female as the perpetrator, and 95 to 98 percent of female victims report a male. Many argue that this is a resounding sign that sexual violence is no longer predominantly a male-on-female problem but now a human problem.
Patriarchal societies typically have a lot less domestic violence and sexual violence than liberal ones
Paradoxically, repeated data shows that patriarchal-style societies have a much lesser problem with rape and domestic violence than liberal ones. Even more paradoxically, the data on domestic and sexual violence does seem to show that the more liberal a society becomes, the bigger the problem domestic and sexual violence becomes.
In terms of the explanation for this, it’s believed to be linked to the education given to both men and women in more strictly patriarchal style societies, so the enforced boundaries between them.
Also, many argue that patriarchal societies typically see couples link up quite young and do not see such promiscuity and as widespread alcohol use, or illegal substance abuse. Because the biggest age range that sees abuse is typically 15 to 25, and alcohol and substance abuse along with promiscuity are believed to play a large part of it, by keeping those in these age ranges apart and pushing them into lifelong partnerships with an education that enforces boundaries, and by limiting alcohol and substance use, inevitably, there is a lot less domestic violence and sexual violence.
However, it should be noted that there is a good amount still and many find themselves trapped in these relationships even more so than in liberal-based cultures i.e. there are other problems in patriarchal-styled societies which are so well known and documented that they do not need to be repeated.
Many argue though that there are things we can learn from the fact that there is less domestic and sexual violence in more patriarchal cultures. The main thing it is argued that can be learned is the importance of providing a solid and consistent education. In patriarchal style cultures, they typically throw couples together young, teach them highly restrictive boundaries, and restrict them from everything. But the fact is they do teach them a solid and consistent relationship structure and how to manage it.
It is argued that in liberal societies we do not do this and as such there is chaos i.e. we need to actually properly prepare children for the world we are trying to create. So, it is argued that patriarchal societies prepare their children for the world they want to create, but liberal ones don’t prepare children for the world they are trying to create, and that’s why there is so much chaos.
Final words
If you are suffering domestic abuse, remember that you are not alone, and if you can try to reach out to a refuge, there are people out there who will help you. That can protect you. That is a promise.
That’s all from me, thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy the following:
17 Facts About Infidelity That Will Open Your Mind To How Big The Problem Is
The Understudied Female Sexual Predator
Emotional abuse in intimate relationships: The role of gender and age
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