Communication on the prevention of violence
(the Texas Council on Family Violence as an example)
The Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) serves three main functions: to secure support to service providers, to advocate on behalf of domestic violence victims to the state government and to develop and implement prevention programs focused at ending domestic violence at its root causes.
The Texas Council on Family Violence promotes safe and healthy relationships by supporting service providers, facilitating strategic prevention efforts, and creating opportunities for freedom from domestic violence.
TCFV members help to raise domestic violence awareness and help to create positive changes for victims of family violence throughout the state of Texas.
To service providers team collaborates with shelters, law enforcement and judicial servants to ensure that the needs of victims are met. Our prevention team focuses on awareness, education and changing the cultural mindset around issues like gender roles, media coverage of abuse and other topics that perpetuate domestic violence.
Learn more about these three areas of focus: Support to Service Providers, Policy, Prevention.
The work of TCFV could not be made possible without the support of Texas communities, our allies in the struggle against domestic violence, law enforcement and legal advocates.
The Texas Council on Family Violence educates victim advocates, criminal justice personnel, health care providers, faith communities, businesses, advocacy organizations, service providers and allied professionals in communities throughout Texas and the nation.
TCFV schedules statewide trainings that are designed to help organizations and communities to end violence against women. Workshop topics cover a variety of issues including: battering intervention and prevention, community organizing, legal issues, working with communities of faith and assisting law enforcement.
In addition, TCFV provides training on request to meet the specific needs of your organization or agency, TCFV aims to provide the most current and comprehensive information on domestic violence for programs, law enforcement, community members and educators.
The Facts on Tweens and Teens and Dating Violence
While dating, domestic and sexual violence affect women regardless of their age, teens and young women are especially vulnerable. Young people aged 12 to 19 experience the highest rates of rape and sexual assault [1], and people aged 18 and 19 experience the highest rates of stalking [2]. Add to that the 15.5 million of the US children who live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year [3] and you have a huge number of young people in this country whose lives are affected – sometimes shaped – by violence.
Prevalence of Violence in Tweens
• Approximately one in three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner – a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting youth [4].
• In a national online survey, one in five tweens – age 11 to 14 – say their friends are victims of dating violence and nearly half who are in relationships know friends who are verbally abused. Two in five of the youngest tweens, ages 11 and 12, report that their friends are victims of verbal abuse in relationships [5].
• A survey of 7th graders in a high-risk community found that more than one in three boys (35.2 percent) and nearly one in four girls (24.1 percent) reported being a victim of physical dating violence in the past year [6].
• The same study found that nearly one in four 7th grade girls (24.9 percent) and more than one in five boys (21.2 percent) reported perpetrating physical violence in a dating relationship in the past year [7].
• A small study of middle school Latino youth 11 to 13 years old found that 14 percent of girls and 13 percent of boys disclosed experiencing physical dating violence in the past year [8].
• Boys are more likely to inflict injuries as a result of perpetrating dating violence than girls [9]. This trend – where girls slap and push and boys hit and punch – continues into adulthood. Women suffer from much higher rates of domestic violence and incur more injuries. In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published data collected in 2005 that finds that women experience two million injuries from intimate partner violence each year [10]. And the cost of intimate partner rape, physical assault and stalking is in the billions of dollars [11].
Prevalence of Violence in Teens
• One in three adolescent girls in the United States is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner – a figure that far exceeds victimization rates for other types of violence affecting youth [12].
• Nationwide, nearly one in ten high-school students (9.8 percent) has been hit, slapped or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend [13].
• Teens in same-sex relationships experience rates of violence and abuse similar to rates experienced by teens in heterosexual relationships. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health finds that nearly one in four teens and young adults (aged 12-21) in same-sex romantic or sexual relationships reported some type of partner violence victimization in the past year-and-a half.
One in ten reported experiencing physical violence by a dating partner. Females were more likely to report victimization than males [14].
• Nearly one in ten 15-year-old girls disclosed experiencing physical dating violence and one in four disclosed experiencing psychological abuse [15].
• Nearly one in three sexually active adolescent girls in 9th to 12th grade (31.5 percent) report ever experiencing physical or sexual violence from dating partners [16].
• One in four teen girls in a relationship (26 percent) says she has been threatened with violence or experienced verbal abuse, and 13 percent say they were physically hurt or hit [17].
• One in three teens reports knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped or physically hurt by a partner[18].
The article presents the published data available on the site: TCFV 4-7- year-old. More "fresh" data is not in the direct access. However, data journalist confirmed the same trend during an internship in the organization in March-April 2014.
Domestic violence in Russia
Considering the given data on violence in the family, we can’t pass over the fact that domestic violence is quite common in the United States. From all evidence, the rates of such violence in the US significantly exceed those of domestic violence in Russia. According to the State Statistics Committee of Russia, the number of victims ( in the case of the investigation into the murder and grievous bodily harm ) from 2000 to 2010 among women decreased from 31.8 thousand to 15.6 thousand of people, and among men – from 49.8 thousand to 39.7 thousand of people. The death rate now decreased among women from 16.8 thousand to 8.7 thousand of people, and among men from 59.9 thousand to 21.6 thousand of people. However, this does not mean there’s no need to worry. It should be taken into account that many of the facts of violence remain undetected. Many women and children do not dare to disclose the facts of violence on psychological and other reasons. The facts of financial and other types of domestic violence are also incalculable.
"Violence is the ugliest manifestation of discrimination of women in society. Almost a quarter of all reported crimes in Russia are crimes with female victims. Among the causes of violent crimes are mercenary motives, bullying, jealousy, quarrels, domestic reasons, rape. The sexual exploitation of women became one of the most profitable business sectors. Often this takes the form of trafficking, accompanied by transportation of women, including transportation abroad.
State and society underestimate the problem and don’t take enough measures to prevent domestic violence. Meanwhile, domestic violence characterizes every fourth Russian family. Its forms are ill- treatment, enforced alcohol, drugs, prostitution. About a third of the total number of homicides is committed in the family [19]".
Democratic, legal and social state should pursue an effective policy to prevent violence in all spheres of human activities, to aim their efforts to eliminate the social and economic gender asymmetry in the society.
References
1. Truman, Jennifer and Rand, Michael. 2010. Criminal Victimization, 2009. U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv09.pdf.
2. Baum, Katrina, Catalano, Shannan, Rand, Michael and Rose, Kristina. 2009. Stalking Victimization in the United States. U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/svus.pdf.
3. McDonald, R, Jouriles, E, Ramisetty-Mikler, S. et al. 2006. Estimating the Number of American Children Living in Partner-Violent Families. Journal of Family Psychology 20(1): 137-142.
4. Davis, Antoinette, MPH. 2008. Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence among Teens. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency Focus. Available at http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2008_focus_teen_dating_violence.pdf.
5. Tween and Teen Dating Violence and Abuse Study, Teenage Research Unlimited for Liz Claiborne Inc. and the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. February 2008. Available at
http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/pdf/Tween%20Dating%20Abuse%20Full%20Report.pdf.
6.Swahn MH, Simon TR, Arias I & Bossarte RM. 2008. Measuring Sex Differences in Violence Victimization and Perpetration Within Date and Same-Sex Peer Relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2008:23(8):1120-1138.
7. Ibid.
8. Yan, Fang; Howard, Donna; Beck, Kenneth; Shattuck, Teresa; and Hallmark-Kerr, Melissa. 2010. Psychosocial Correlates of Physical Dating Violence Victimization Among Latino Early Adolescents, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, First published on July 7, 2009. doi:10.1177/0886260509336958
9. Swahn, Monica; Simon, Thomas; Hertz, Marci; Arias, Illeana, et all. 2008. Liniking Dating Violence, Peer Violence, and Suicidal Behaviors Among High Risk Youth. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 2008; 34(1), 30-38.
10. Adverse Health Conditions and Health Risk Behaviors Associated with Intimate Partner Violence, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. February 2008. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5705a1.htm.
11. Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. 2003. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/IPVBook-a.pdf.
12. Davis, Antoinette, MPH. 2008. Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence among Teens. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency Focus. Available at
http://www.nccdcrc.org/nccd/pubs/Dating%20Violence%20Among%20Teens.pdf.
13. Eaton DK, Kann L, Kinchen S, et al. 2010. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance --- United States, 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 59(SS5);1-148. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss5905.pdf.
14. Halpern CT, Young ML, Waller MW, Martin SL & Kupper LL. 2004. Prevalence of Partner Violence in Same-sex Romantic and Sexual Relationships in a National Sample of Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health. 35(2): 124-131.
15. Hebert M, Lavoie F, Vitaro F, McDuff P & Tremblay RE. 2008. Association of Child Sexual Abuse and Dating Victimization with Mental Health Disorder in a Sample of Adolescent Girls. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 21(2): 181-189.
16. Decker M, Silverman J, Raj A. 2005. Dating Violence and Sexually Transmitted Disease/HIV Testing and Diagnosis Among Adolescent Females. Pediatrics. 116: 272-276.
17. Liz Claiborne Inc. 2005. Omnibuzz® Topline Findings-Teen Relationship Abuse Research. Teenage Research Unlimited. Available at http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/surveyresults.htm.
18. Ibid.
19. International law in the field of equality between men and women: the UN Millennium Declaration, stated goals and methods for their implementation. M. BFRGTZ "Word" in 2003. Pp. 116-117.
