New snapshot of domestic violence services: in one 24 hour period, 7 U.S. children murdered by their fathers in dv homicides

Another repost of an article from the Speaking Up newsletter (full citation in the post immediately below this one). Dastardly readers may be interested to know that just within the 24-hour survey day of September 15, 2009, 7 children were murdered by their fathers in domestic violence homicides. Make sure you see the full report (link below).

NEW SNAPSHOT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES

In one 24-hour period, more than 65,000 victims of domestic violence and their children received life-saving services from local domestic violence programs; domestic violence experts answered more than 23,000 emergency hotline calls; but 9,280 requests for services went unmet, largely due to lack of funding. These are the results of the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s (NNEDV’s) 24-hour survey of domestic violence programs across the United States. NNEDV released the report on March 8, International Women’s Day.

For the past four years, NNEDV has conducted a 24-hour survey of domestic violence programs across the county. The latest survey day was September 15, 2009, which saw two women miscarry as a result of domestic violence, seven babies born to mothers living in shelters, and seven children murdered by their fathers in domestic violence homicides.

The report finds that, “For victims of domestic violence, in these difficult economic times, barriers to leaving abusive relationships increase and opportunities to attain economic stability and independence decrease. Domestic violence programs have always worked incredibly hard to provide safety and resources for victims, but the economic recession has made it harder to do that work.”

“Especially on International Women’s Day, it is a testament to the selfless women who serve domestic violence survivors that so many victims reached out for services,” said NNEDV President Sue Else. “Despite the economic downturn, it is truly amazing that victim advocates with ever-tightening budgets helped so many people in one day alone.”

“Year after year, we see staggering numbers of victims and their children who experience traumatic abuse and find support from local domestic violence shelters and programs,” said NNEDV Vice President of Development & Innovation Cindy Southworth. “We hope this survey will help people better understand domestic violence and inspire them to take action.”

Of the 1,980 local programs NNEDV identified, 83 percent (1,648) participated in the survey. The full report is available here