Southern Maryland Center For Family Advocacy

Providing Advocacy and Legal Services to Families in Southern Maryland

Home

Contact Us

Driving Directions

Employment

Volunteer

Board of Directors/Staff

Mission and History

Programs & Services

Advocacy Program

Pro Bono Legal Program

Domestic Violence Info.

Resources by County

Power and Control

In the Media

Executive Director Blog

Fundraising/Donations

Donate to SMCFA

Calendar

 
The reality of domestic violence is chilling...
  • Domestic violence is the leading cause of death for pregnant women.1
  • More women are injured by their partners than by muggings, auto accidents and rape combined.2
  • 4 women are murdered every day in the U.S. by their partner.3
  • Around the world, 1 out of 3 women, at a minimum, has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused.4
  • Close to half of all girls aged 14 to 17 know someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.5
  • As many as 10 million children witness one or more acts of domestic violence in their homes each year in the U.S.6
  • In homes where adult domestic violence occurs, children are 1,500 times more likely to also be abused.7
Domestic violence cost approximately $8.8 billion per year in 'hard' costs: health care; police and judicial intervention; lost work days; other related expenses.8

 
  1. Horon, I., & Cheng, D., (2001). Enhanced Surveillance for Pregnancy-Related Mortality-Maryland, 1993-1998. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, No. 11, March 21, 2001.
  2. Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N., (2000). Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence & Consequences of Violence Against Women. U.S. Dept. of Justice Crime Statistics, No. 26, p. 30-31, November 2000.
  3. Federal Bureau of Investigation: Crime Statistics (2001).
  4. Heise, L. Ellsberg, M. and Gottemoeller, M. Ending Violence Against Women. Population Reports, Series L, No. 11, December 1999.
  5. Children Now: Kaiser Permanente Poll (1995).
  6. Department of Justice. Family Violence: Interventions for the Justice System. (1993).
  7. Carlson, Bonnie E. (1984). Children's Observations of Interpersonal Violence., in A.R. Roberts (Ed.) Battered Women and Their Families (pp. 147-167). NY: Springer.
Greenfield, L.A. (1999). U.S. Dept. of Justice. Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, March, 1996, pp. 21-22.