Family violence is more traumatic for most children than street violence. The victims and perpetrators are most often people a child knows intimately and depends on for love and protection.¹

Almost half of all homicides occur among persons who know one another; in two thirds of these instances the perpetrator and victim are friends or acquaintances, in one third they are family members.²

Elder abuse ranges from physical harm to callous neglect. Social service agencies see only a small percentage of elder abuse cases, fewer than 1 in 14 cases are reported. Penalties for not reporting cases are rarely, if ever enforced.³

Violence in one's family of origin is seen as predictive of violence in one's family of procreation. In many cases of elder abuse a reversal of victimization is the cause of violence. Studies show upon reaching adulthood, children who were formerly abused strike against their abuser as retaliation and imitation.⁴

In many states, a husband who forces sexual intercourse on his wife is immune from criminal prosecution or will receive a more lenient sentence than if he raped a stranger.⁵

In 1990, 5,328 women died as a result of homicide. Six of every ten of these women were murdered by someone they knew, half of them by a spouse or intimate acquaintance.⁶

In cases of spousal abuse, women are injured 13 times as frequently as men. Women who were victims of severe violence at the hands of their spouses were 150% more likely to use severe violence in resolving conflicts with their children.⁷

Often adolescents being abused engage in violent activities and are identified as juvenile offenders but not victims of abuse. The result is a lack of needed medical or mental health treatment.⁸

With the exception of homicide, children and youth suffer more victimizations than do adults in virtually every category, including physical abuse, sibling assualts, bullying, sexual abuse, and rape.⁹

Almost 15 percent of all reports of child maltreatment in 1990 involved sexual abuse. In cases of child sexual abuse, one third of these incidents occured with family members. One out of twelve cases involve fathers/stepfathers.¹⁰

Alcohol appears to lower inhibitions against violent behavior. Parents who abuse alcohol or drugs put their children at greater risk for violent victimization.¹¹

A breakdown of family processes and relationships contribute to the development of antisocial behaviors including violence. Lack of parental supervision is one of the strongest predictors of the development of conduct problems and delinquency.¹²

In efforts of intervention, health care providers should be trained to identify and report spousal, elder, and child abuse.¹³

¹ "How Does Exposure to Violence Affect Very Young Children?" The Harvard Mental Health Letter, Vol. 11, No. 7, January 1995.
² "Just the Facts," A Summary of Recent Information on America's Children and their Families., National Commission on Children, 1993.
³ Rosenberg & Fenley, 1991.
⁴ Rosenberg & Fenley, 1991.
⁵ "Elements of Interpersonal Domestic Violence Torts: Some Non-Traditional Alternatives," by Frederica L. Lerhman, Esq. Marital Rape, Domestic Violence Report, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1996.
⁶ "Public Health Policy for Preventing Violence," by James A. Mercy, Mark L. Rosenberg, Kenneth E. Powell, Claire V. Broome, and William L. Roper, in Health Affairs, Vol. 12, No. 4, Winter 1993.
⁷ Rosenberg & Fenley, 1991.
⁸ "Violence and Youth," Report of the American Psychological Association Commission on Violence and Youth, Vol. 1, 1993.
⁹ American Psychological Association Commission on Violence and Youth, 1993.
¹⁰ National Commission on Children, 1993.
¹¹ National Commission on Children, 1993.
¹² Rosenberg & Fenley, 1991.
¹³ Rosenberg & Fenley, 1991.