Rate of Domestic Violence Dramatically Drops

The number of domestic violence cases in the U.S. fell dramatically from 1993 to 2004, according to the Justice Department who also added that native Alaskan women and American Indian women face an increased risk of being victimized than Caucasians and other minorities.

Furthermore, the statistics, gathered by the Bureau of Justice, found that “intimate partner violence” rates dropped by over 50 percent. This sharp decline mirrors a downward trend in other violent crimes in the U.S.

What Caused the Drop

The Justice Department has no definite answer as to why the rates of domestic violence crimes have dropped so significantly in the last decade, but some criminal experts claim it has something to do with better police training and funding for prosecution.

“For the first time, there are entire domestic violence units in law enforcement,” said Lonna Stevens, director of the Sheila Wellstone Institute, a domestic violence group. “We’ve had protocols and policies developed for responding to this.”

More Statistics

For every 1,000 people over the age of 12 in the U.S, there were nearly 5.8 cases of nonfatal violence in 1993. By 2004, that rate had dropped to 2.6.

However, native Alaskan women and American Indian women suffered three times the incidence of violence than white woman, and Black women were also more likely to be abused than white women.

According to Stevens, this could be because law enforcement officials are less successful at responding or deterring violent behavior in some minority neighborhoods.

In addition, the Justice Department found that divorced or separated women, or those in their early 20s faced the highest risk of being abused. Women in low-income households were also victimized more often.

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