Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse

• 1 out of 6 American women have been the victim of an attempted or completed sexual assault in her lifetime
• Around the world, at least 1 out of 3 women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime
• 93% of all sexual assaults in Wisconsin were perpetrated by someone known to the victim, such as a family member, sexual partner or acquaintance
• All women are vulnerable to sexual abuse regardless of their age, race or income

Abuse has a significant impact on a woman's physical and mental health:

• 30% of women presenting with injuries to emergency rooms are there because of battering
• Abused women are more likely to experience headaches, back pain, abdominal pain, sexually transmitted diseases, vaginal bleeding and urinary tract infections
• 25% of suicide attempts by Caucasian women and 50% by African-American women are related to abuse
• 1 in 6 women are battered during pregnancy

What can I do?

Abuse doesn't just happen to "other people."  It doesn't just happen in "bad marriages."  Every year, thousands of women find themselves in abusive relationships with people they hardly know or with partners they think they know well.  It can happen to you.  We are concerned about every woman's safety and well being.

[ Top of page ]