Anger Management Workbook

Anger Busting Workbook

Page 129

end of May. In July, the Associated Press reported that the epidemic had been contained. The worldwide death count from this sinister killer - 812 persons, mostly in China and its neighbors, with a handful scattered across Canada and Africa. Very scary stuff.

Now, compare that number with this one. In one year (1998) 4,189 women were killed by their intimate partners, with 58% of the deaths being married women killed by their husbands. Four thousand, one hundred and eighty nine women killed in one country in one year. Compare that to 812 deaths worldwide from SARS a disease that was fairly easy to contain in a matter of months and decide for yourself what we should consider to be the bigger threat, the real epidemic. Yet, aside from brief coverage on the Police Blotter page of the newspaper, or a 30-second blurb on the late night news, violence against women goes largely unrecognized for what it truly is one of the most lethal health problems a woman in America can face. Unfortunately, comprehensive statistics do not exist that would document the number of women who are simply terrorized, battered, bruised, maimed or injured as a result of family violence. But we can tell you this much: at the center of each tragic incident is an angry man.

Just the facts, m'am

Just read over the following family violence summary, and try to comprehend something that is truly incomprehensible.

Family Violence Facts and Figures

• Between 21 and 34 percent of American women are battered by a male partner.
• Between 24 and 30 percent of battered women lose their jobs because they can't be at work due to emotional trauma or physical injury.
• 56 percent of abused women are harassed by the abuser at work.
• For statistics current through 1998, more than three out of every 100 women (1.8 million) had been severely assaulted by male partners during the past year punched, kicked, choked, beaten, threatened with a gun or knife, or injured by a gun or knife.
• Other estimates put this number at between 8.5 and 11.3 percent of the American female population.
• At least 16 percent of American couples experience assault every year.
• Nearly one in eight husbands carries out one or more acts of violence toward his partner every year.
• One-third of all female family violence victims receive serious physical injuries.
• 20 to 30 percent of women seen in emergency rooms showed signs of physical abuse. Half of these admitted the injuries were inflicted by their partners.
• 10 percent of the victims were pregnant at the time of the abuse.
• 86 percent of the victims had been abused at least once before.
• 40 percent of those previously injured had required medical attention for those earlier abuse episodes.