Lillian Smith Family Violence Foundation

143 Pelican Cove Dr. Rockwall TX 75087

214-256-4071 or email us at jj@lilliansmith.org

Domestic Abuse

Sexual Assaults

Dating Abuse

Child Abuse/Neglect

Family Pet Abuse

Year after year, millions of men and boys are getting away with physically, sexually, verbally and emotionally abusing millions of women and girls across Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas and America.

They hit, kick, slap, beat, stalk, rape, harrass, threaten and even kill their wives, girlfriends, exes, children and other family members to exert power and control over others because their own lives are so out of control. Many are terribly insecure, don't feel loved and are struggling with an overwhelming fear of abandonment. They will do virtually anything to prevent from being abandoned again. Others have been raised in homes where power and control were the rule. They were groomed by their parents to become abusive.

Millions more parents, step-parents and family members are getting away with physically, sexually, verbally and emotionally abusing and neglectingmillions of children in their families - 80% of whom are under age 5.

Abusers do so because they can, and because it works. Their victims are terrified and virtually nobody is stopping them.

They use violence and threats as a means of controlling and manipulating women and children with whom they have relationships.

Although great progress has been made and reports of domestic violence have declined since Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994), abuse continues to rage.

In 1995, the US Surgeon General reported domestic violence as the leading cause of injury to women, ages 18-44, "more than all rapes, muggings and auto accidents combined." He and several physician groups labeled it a "public health crisis of epidemic proportions."

Family violence is now the leading cause of injury to women and children in America - surpassing accidental falls and auto accidents, according to the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Centers For Disease Control), despite the efforts of tens of thousands of social service, health care, law enforcement and criminal justice professionals.

Recent estimates reveal that as many as four million women per year are assaulted by their partners and 50-75% of their children are also abused by these same males. One million children are abused/neglected by their parents and other family members. Family violence is said to be the most under-reported crime by the FBI. Less than 25% of domestic and child abuse assaults are likely reported.

Since relationship violence among adults is so common, teen and young adult dating abuse has now also exploded to epidemic levels nationwide.

Research reveals such staggering statistics as :

One in four American women have been physically and/or sexually assaulted by their husbands, boyfriends or exes at some point during their lives (US Dept. of Justice)

One in three teenagers say they have experienced physical or sexual violence in their dating relationships (Love Is Not Abuse, Liz Claiborne Inc.)

75 percent of 16 to 24-year-old Texans have either personally experienced dating abuse or know someone who has. Fifty percent have experienced dating abuse. (Texas Council on Family Violence/Texas Attorney General's Office, 2006)

One in four girls and one in eight boys will be sexually assaulted before they reach the age of 18 (RAINN)

About one million children in the U.S. are confirmed neglect or abuse victims each year - but experts believe only 25 percent of child maltreatment cases are reported. (CDC/National Center for Injury Prevention)

Also called domestic violence or domestic abuse, family violence commonly refers to physical, sexual and/or verbal assaults committed by a member of a family or household against another member of that same family or household. The definition of family vioelnce has been extended to include violence committed against ex-spouses, intimate or dating partners and child abuse/neglect.

The problem is not limited to any one demographic group and crosses all lines and levels of age, sex, race, national origin, religion, education and income. But in 85% of reported cases, men are the perpetrators; women and children are the primary victims. For a variety of reasons, only about 20-25% of incidents are reported. The group with the highest risk of abuse iscurrently 16 to 24-year-olds.

Family violence incidents and crimes occur for a variety of reasons, but in each case the perpetrator chooses to assault the other person. No one ever makes any one else angry or forces them to harm anyone. Abusers choose to abuse. Too many people also don't know how to get what they want without using violent behavior. Too many public attitudes and public policies still exist which even sanction or allow abusers to get away with causing physical harm.

Abusers will continue to use violence because it works - until somebody stops them. Abuse is about control and power. Their self-esteem is typically so low, they feel so unloved and their own lives are so out of control that they hit, threaten, rape, and batter their spouses, lovers and other family members so they can at least have some control and power over somebody's life.

Most are also just doing what they've grown up watching other family members do. The cycle of violence is real.

For millions of our nation's most inncocent and defenseless, the situation is desperate.

The Epidemic

Lillian Smith Family Violence Foundation on Facebook

FAMILY VIOLENCE

FOUNDATION

Stay Informed!

Together we can end abuse!

“If the leading newspapers were to announce tomorrow a new disease that, over the past year, had afflicted from 3 to 4 million citizens, few would fail to appreciate the seriousness of the illness. Yet, when it comes to the 3 to 4 million women who are victimized by violence each year, the alarms ring softly.”

Vice President of the US Joseph R. Biden, former chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee