Domestic violence in Chicago mirrors the problem nationwide. Across the country, intimate partner violence is primarily a crime against women. During 2001, “more than half a million American women 588,490 to be exact were victims of nonfatal violence committed by intimate partners.”3 In terms of percentages, women accounted for 85 percent of the victims of intimate partner violence that year. Sadly, this pattern is repeated in Chicago. Of the 204,729 domestic violence related calls recorded across the City of Chicago in a single year, 147,635 were domestic disturbance calls, 51,607 were domestic battery calls, and 5,487 calls involved violations of court orders of protection. Overwhelmingly, the persons placing these calls were women and the persons they were reporting were intimate partners. In 2005, “domestic violence murders accounted for 8 percent of all murders in the City of Chicago,” according to the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence.4 “There were 36 domestic violence murders in 2005, up from 23 recorded in 2004 but below the annual average of 48.7 during the prior tenyear period of 1995 through 2004. Twentysix of the victims in 2005 were female, ranging in age from 13 to 82 years old; ten of the victims were male, ranging in age from 17 through 61 years of age, according to City officials.5 More than 70 percent of the “domestic violence murders in 2005 involved intimate partners,” city officials note, and a full 92 percent of the domestic violence victims reporting incidents that year were persons reporting that the alleged abuser was a male partner.6
Though efforts are being made to end domestic violence in Chicago and there has been some decline, the numbers are still staggering. In 2005, “there were 36 murders classified as domestic violence and nine murders classified as child abuse,” citywide statistics show. “By historical comparison, those numbers are below the annual averages for the 10 year period of 1995 through 2004,” according to city officials.7 Among the reasons for this decline, city officials note, is that “[s]ince 1997, there has been a strengthened understanding of domestic violence.” In addition, domestic violence is recognized today “as a crime that requires collaborative intervention by direct services, the police, and the criminal court system.”8 Among the measures taken by local officials to assist the victims of domestic violence are: improved facilities at the city’s courts; a 24hour domestic violence Help Line (18778636338); the creation of a greater array of civil remedies; outreach efforts; and, public awareness programs. And yet, the numbers, and often the specifics of these incidents, are often still staggering.
Women from all backgrounds are vulnerable to domestic violence.9 But race appears, at least statistically, to be a big part of the problem. According to Domestic Violence Crime Trends,10 a publication of the City of Chicago, between 1994 and 2005, “the African American community experienced many more domestic violence murders than other race groups; approximately six times more than Caucasians.” When compared to Hispanics, the African American community experienced “nearly seven times” more domestic violence murders between 1995 and 2004, and three and a half times more domestic violence related murders by comparison in 2005.11 And yet, the phenomenon of violence tends to cut across the entire community. African American children were also “the majority of the victims” of child abuse murder between 1995 and 2005.12 Though women from all economic classes may be victims, economics also appear to play a role. In Chicago, 16.6 percent of all Chicago households, and 19.6 percent of individuals living in the city live below the poverty line, Census data suggests. As a result, sometimes women fleeing violence at home find that they have no place to go: Fortyfive women residing in homeless shelters during 2003 were interviewed by city officials about the cause of their homelessness. Fiftysix percent of them said they were victims of domestic violence and 22 percent said domestic violence was the immediate cause of their homelessness.” 13
Spousal or intimate partner rape, though still often not thought of as “a crime,” remains a problem in Chicago and across the nation. Nearly 25 percent of American women report being raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabitating partner, or date at some time in their lifetime, according to the National Violence Against Women Survey, conducted from November 1995 to May 1996.14 And though other numbers in the area of domestic violence have fallen, these have not. In 2002, roughly half of all family violence incidents across the country involved rape or sexual assault by an intimate partner.15 Though it is not clear from the City of Chicago’s Report that statistics on rape and sexual assault among young people and adults by intimate partners are maintained, as many as 1 in 5 female high school students report being physically or sexually abused by dating partners,16 and roughly 57 percent of teens interviewed report “knowing someone who has been physically, sexually, or verbally abused in a dating relationship.”17
Like men in other parts of the country, men who beat their intimate partners in Chicago also often beat the children of the relationship. Statistics suggest that more than half of the female victims of intimate partner violence live in households with children under the age of twelve.18 As domestic violence affects women, it often affects children. Data from a national survey of more than 6,000 American families suggests that 50 percent of men who assaulted their wives also abused their children.19 In Chicago, in 2004, nearly half of all domestic violence victims calling the Chicago Help Line reported having between 1 and 8 children.20 The following year, roughly 49 percent of victims calling the Chicago Help Line reported that they had between 1 and 10 children.21 In 2005, nine child abuserelated murders were recorded across the City of Chicago, “down from 15 in 2004,” City officials report.22 Two of these victims were female; seven were male. All were between the ages of infant and four years old.23
Same-sex couples in Chicago sometimes experience violence too. Though the vast majority of domestic violence incidents are between members of the “opposite sex,” same-sex couples are not immune. According to City officials, “[i]n 2005, 3 percent of the total victim callers to the Chicago Help Line indicated that their abusers were their same-sex.”24 It is widely accepted, however, that incidents of same-sex domestic violence are underreported. “Not all victims of domestic violence call the police,” city officials note. “In reality, some neighborhoods or communities may actually have more incidents of domestic violence than what is reflected in the number of calls for service to the police. Economic, racial, cultural and religious considerations may have an impact on a victim’s use of law enforcement and the criminal justice system.”25 The same-sex community, a traditionally stigmatized group, is among those where partner violence is often suffered in silence. In addition, “[s]ame sex couple rates of domestic violence also show differences by gender. The National Violence Against Women Survey (2000) found 11 percent of women who had lived with another woman as a couple reported being raped, physically assaulted or stalked by an intimate partner, as compared to 23 percent of men who had lived with another man as part of a couple,” officials note.26
If you are a victim of domestic violence, there is no need to suffer in silence. At Rainbow House, we mend families. As one of Chicago’s most enduring domestic violence services agencies, Rainbow House has helped thousands of individuals and families from across the City of Chicago whose lives have been shattered by incidents of abuse to regain their footing. And we can help you too.
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1See Assessment of the Current Response to Domestic Violence in Chicago 2007, REPORT BY THE CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR’S OFFICE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, online at: www.cityofchicago.org/domesticviolence, at p. 3.
2Id. at p. 4
3See Intimate Partner Violence, Special Report, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, revised Jan. 31, 2002, online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ipv.pdf.
4See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at pp. 45.
5Id., at p. 6.
6Id., at p. 6.
7Id.
8See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at p. 9.
9See Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, August 1995, BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS.
10Domestic Violence, Crime Trends is a statistical report published by the City of Chicago.
11See DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRIME TRENDS, MURDERS, supra note 6, at p. 2. Available online at: https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/News/Statistical%20Reports/Domestic%20Violence%20Reports/DVChildAbuseMurders.pdf.
12Id.
13See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at p. 6 (citing Center for Impact Research, Pathways to and from Homelessness: Women and Children in Chicago Shelters 3 (Jan. 2004), online at: www.centerforimpactresearch.org.
14See FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION FUND: The Facts on Domestic Violence (citing The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Justice, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence, July 2000).
15See Family Violence: Facts and Figures, NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFERENCE SERVICE FACT SHEET, available at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/spotlight/family_violence/facts.html.
16See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at p. 7 (citing Jay Silverman, Anita Ray, Jeanne Hathaway, Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy and Suicidality, JOURNAL OF AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Vol. 286 (No. 5) (2001).
17Id. (citing Liz Claiborne, Inc., Conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, Feb. 2005).
18See U.S. DEP’T JUSTICE, VIOLENCE BY INTIMATES: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Former or Current Spouses, Boyfriends and Girlfriends (March 1998).
19See MURRAY STRAUSE ET AL., PHYSICAL VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN FAMILIES: RISK FACTORS AND ADAPTATIONS TO VIOLENCE IN 8,145 FAMILIES (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1990).
20See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at p. 6.
21Id.
22Id. at p. 5.
23Id.
24Id. at p. 6.
25Id. at p. 4.
26Id.
Though efforts are being made to end domestic violence in Chicago and there has been some decline, the numbers are still staggering. In 2005, “there were 36 murders classified as domestic violence and nine murders classified as child abuse,” citywide statistics show. “By historical comparison, those numbers are below the annual averages for the 10 year period of 1995 through 2004,” according to city officials.7 Among the reasons for this decline, city officials note, is that “[s]ince 1997, there has been a strengthened understanding of domestic violence.” In addition, domestic violence is recognized today “as a crime that requires collaborative intervention by direct services, the police, and the criminal court system.”8 Among the measures taken by local officials to assist the victims of domestic violence are: improved facilities at the city’s courts; a 24hour domestic violence Help Line (18778636338); the creation of a greater array of civil remedies; outreach efforts; and, public awareness programs. And yet, the numbers, and often the specifics of these incidents, are often still staggering.
Women from all backgrounds are vulnerable to domestic violence.9 But race appears, at least statistically, to be a big part of the problem. According to Domestic Violence Crime Trends,10 a publication of the City of Chicago, between 1994 and 2005, “the African American community experienced many more domestic violence murders than other race groups; approximately six times more than Caucasians.” When compared to Hispanics, the African American community experienced “nearly seven times” more domestic violence murders between 1995 and 2004, and three and a half times more domestic violence related murders by comparison in 2005.11 And yet, the phenomenon of violence tends to cut across the entire community. African American children were also “the majority of the victims” of child abuse murder between 1995 and 2005.12 Though women from all economic classes may be victims, economics also appear to play a role. In Chicago, 16.6 percent of all Chicago households, and 19.6 percent of individuals living in the city live below the poverty line, Census data suggests. As a result, sometimes women fleeing violence at home find that they have no place to go: Fortyfive women residing in homeless shelters during 2003 were interviewed by city officials about the cause of their homelessness. Fiftysix percent of them said they were victims of domestic violence and 22 percent said domestic violence was the immediate cause of their homelessness.” 13
Spousal or intimate partner rape, though still often not thought of as “a crime,” remains a problem in Chicago and across the nation. Nearly 25 percent of American women report being raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, cohabitating partner, or date at some time in their lifetime, according to the National Violence Against Women Survey, conducted from November 1995 to May 1996.14 And though other numbers in the area of domestic violence have fallen, these have not. In 2002, roughly half of all family violence incidents across the country involved rape or sexual assault by an intimate partner.15 Though it is not clear from the City of Chicago’s Report that statistics on rape and sexual assault among young people and adults by intimate partners are maintained, as many as 1 in 5 female high school students report being physically or sexually abused by dating partners,16 and roughly 57 percent of teens interviewed report “knowing someone who has been physically, sexually, or verbally abused in a dating relationship.”17
Like men in other parts of the country, men who beat their intimate partners in Chicago also often beat the children of the relationship. Statistics suggest that more than half of the female victims of intimate partner violence live in households with children under the age of twelve.18 As domestic violence affects women, it often affects children. Data from a national survey of more than 6,000 American families suggests that 50 percent of men who assaulted their wives also abused their children.19 In Chicago, in 2004, nearly half of all domestic violence victims calling the Chicago Help Line reported having between 1 and 8 children.20 The following year, roughly 49 percent of victims calling the Chicago Help Line reported that they had between 1 and 10 children.21 In 2005, nine child abuserelated murders were recorded across the City of Chicago, “down from 15 in 2004,” City officials report.22 Two of these victims were female; seven were male. All were between the ages of infant and four years old.23
Same-sex couples in Chicago sometimes experience violence too. Though the vast majority of domestic violence incidents are between members of the “opposite sex,” same-sex couples are not immune. According to City officials, “[i]n 2005, 3 percent of the total victim callers to the Chicago Help Line indicated that their abusers were their same-sex.”24 It is widely accepted, however, that incidents of same-sex domestic violence are underreported. “Not all victims of domestic violence call the police,” city officials note. “In reality, some neighborhoods or communities may actually have more incidents of domestic violence than what is reflected in the number of calls for service to the police. Economic, racial, cultural and religious considerations may have an impact on a victim’s use of law enforcement and the criminal justice system.”25 The same-sex community, a traditionally stigmatized group, is among those where partner violence is often suffered in silence. In addition, “[s]ame sex couple rates of domestic violence also show differences by gender. The National Violence Against Women Survey (2000) found 11 percent of women who had lived with another woman as a couple reported being raped, physically assaulted or stalked by an intimate partner, as compared to 23 percent of men who had lived with another man as part of a couple,” officials note.26
If you are a victim of domestic violence, there is no need to suffer in silence. At Rainbow House, we mend families. As one of Chicago’s most enduring domestic violence services agencies, Rainbow House has helped thousands of individuals and families from across the City of Chicago whose lives have been shattered by incidents of abuse to regain their footing. And we can help you too.
Return to Homepage | Read More
1See Assessment of the Current Response to Domestic Violence in Chicago 2007, REPORT BY THE CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR’S OFFICE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, online at: www.cityofchicago.org/domesticviolence, at p. 3.
2Id. at p. 4
3See Intimate Partner Violence, Special Report, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, revised Jan. 31, 2002, online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/ipv.pdf.
4See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at pp. 45.
5Id., at p. 6.
6Id., at p. 6.
7Id.
8See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at p. 9.
9See Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, August 1995, BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS.
10Domestic Violence, Crime Trends is a statistical report published by the City of Chicago.
11See DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRIME TRENDS, MURDERS, supra note 6, at p. 2. Available online at: https://portal.chicagopolice.org/portal/page/portal/ClearPath/News/Statistical%20Reports/Domestic%20Violence%20Reports/DVChildAbuseMurders.pdf.
12Id.
13See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at p. 6 (citing Center for Impact Research, Pathways to and from Homelessness: Women and Children in Chicago Shelters 3 (Jan. 2004), online at: www.centerforimpactresearch.org.
14See FAMILY VIOLENCE PREVENTION FUND: The Facts on Domestic Violence (citing The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Justice, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence, July 2000).
15See Family Violence: Facts and Figures, NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFERENCE SERVICE FACT SHEET, available at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/spotlight/family_violence/facts.html.
16See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at p. 7 (citing Jay Silverman, Anita Ray, Jeanne Hathaway, Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy and Suicidality, JOURNAL OF AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, Vol. 286 (No. 5) (2001).
17Id. (citing Liz Claiborne, Inc., Conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited, Feb. 2005).
18See U.S. DEP’T JUSTICE, VIOLENCE BY INTIMATES: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Former or Current Spouses, Boyfriends and Girlfriends (March 1998).
19See MURRAY STRAUSE ET AL., PHYSICAL VIOLENCE IN AMERICAN FAMILIES: RISK FACTORS AND ADAPTATIONS TO VIOLENCE IN 8,145 FAMILIES (New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, 1990).
20See MAYOR’S REPORT, supra note 1, at p. 6.
21Id.
22Id. at p. 5.
23Id.
24Id. at p. 6.
25Id. at p. 4.
26Id.