Domestic Violence
What Increases Your Risk
Domestic violence affects all types of people, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, sexual identity, socio-economic status, and religion. While domestic violence can affect men, the large majority (85%) of its victims are women.4
Domestic violence occurs among all socio-economic groups, but poverty increases the likelihood it will occur.5 Poverty can raise the level of stress and conflict within a relationship, which then becomes more prone to violence. Poverty can also make some men feel as though they are powerless and inadequate. This sense of failure may trigger violence toward their partners.
Alcohol abuse also increases the risk of domestic violence. Researchers estimate that in 45% of domestic violence cases, men had been drinking. In 20% of cases, women had been drinking.5
Abuse often increases when a partner is considering leaving the relationship. This might cause the other partner to feel as though he or she is losing control. A victim is at increased risk of stalking, attempted murder, and murder after leaving an abusive relationship.5 In the United States, in homicides where the killer was identified, about 33% of women who were murdered, and 4% of men who were murdered, were killed by their intimate partners.4
See more risk factors for abuse.
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| Author: | Douglas Dana Sabra L. Katz-Wise | Last Updated: November 27, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Gisele Ferguson, MD, FRCPC - Psychiatry, Child and Youth Psychiatry Brigid McCaw, MD, MS, MPH, FACP - Family Violence Prevention | |
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