Domestic Violence

Approximately 1.5 million women and 835,000 men are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States. (National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence — July 2000)

Women tend to report performing acts of violence at higher rates than men, and men tend to report being victims of violence at higher rates than women. In both cases, the implication is that aggression by women toward men exceeds aggression by men toward women. (American Psychological Association, Inc., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Gender Differences in Partner Violence in a Birth Cohort of 21-Year-Olds: Bridging the Gap between Clinical and Epidemiological Approaches — 1997, Vol. 65, No. 1, 68-78)

Nearly 75 percent of family violence victims are female, and nearly 75 percent of family violence perpetrators are male. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Family Violence Statistics; Including Statistics on Strangers and Acquaintances — June 2005)

The prevalence rates of partner violence in young adulthood are remarkably similar in different studies. Across these studies, women report perpetrating more partner violence than men, and men report more victimization than women. (American Psychological Association, Inc., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Gender Differences in Partner Violence in a Birth Cohort of 21-Year-Olds: Bridging the Gap between Clinical and Epidemiological Approaches — 1997, Vol. 65, No. 1, 68-78)

Most intimate partner victimizations are not reported to the police. Only approximately 20 percent of all rapes and 25 percent of all physical assaults against women are reported. Even fewer rapes and physical assaults perpetrated against males are reported. (National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence — July 2000)

There are nearly 700,000 nonfatal violent victimizations committed by current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends of victims annually. About 85 percent of victimizations by intimate partners are against women. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001 — February 2003)

In 2005, women experienced an estimated 389,000 rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault victimizations at the hands of an intimate, and men were victims of more than 78,000 violent crimes by an intimate partner. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, Criminal Victimization, 2005 — September 2006)

Prevalence rates of perpetration by women are significantly higher than those for men regarding overall verbal aggression, minor physical violence, severe physical violence, and the combined measure of any physical violence. (American Psychological Association, Inc., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Gender Differences in Partner Violence in a Birth Cohort of 21-Year-Olds: Bridging the Gap between Clinical and Epidemiological Approaches — 1997, Vol. 65, No. 1, 68-78)

Being male nearly doubles the odds of being a victim of domestic violence as an adult but decreases the odds of perpetrating domestic violence. This finding, although contrary to public perception, is consistent with findings of national surveys in the United States and New Zealand — females hit more often than males, but males do more damage when they hit. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Early studies of partner violence assumed that men's perpetration rates exceeded those of women, in part because these studies relied almost exclusively on clinical samples of women who sought assistance or of men in court-mandated counseling programs. Later surveys using community samples have shown women's rates of violence to be comparable to those of men. (American Psychological Association, Inc., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Gender Differences in Partner Violence in a Birth Cohort of 21-Year-Olds: Bridging the Gap between Clinical and Epidemiological Approaches — 1997, Vol. 65, No. 1, 68-78)

Intimate partner violence accounts for approximately 22 percent of violent crime against women. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. — December 2006)

About 12 percent of male victims of non-fatal intimate partner violence report that their offender is another male. About 84 percent of male victims of non-fatal intimate partner violence report being abused by a female. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. — December 2007)

Most victims of intimate partner homicide are killed by their spouses (versus boyfriends, girlfriends, etc.). (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. — December 2006)

In recent years, about one-third of female homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Homicide Trends in the U.S. – Intimate Homicide — July 2007)

Approximately 13 percent of women and 21 percent of men report having survived severe physical domestic violence. (American Psychological Association, Inc., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Gender Differences in Partner Violence in a Birth Cohort of 21-Year-Olds: Bridging the Gap between Clinical and Epidemiological Approaches — 1997, Vol. 65, No. 1, 68-78)

A conservative conclusion is that female domestic violence victimization rates are no higher than male rates. (American Psychological Association, Inc., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Gender Differences in Partner Violence in a Birth Cohort of 21-Year-Olds: Bridging the Gap between Clinical and Epidemiological Approaches — 1997, Vol. 65, No. 1, 68-78)

Domestic violence is estimated to cost $727 million annually in lost productivity; 7.9 billion paid work days are lost each year as a result of domestic violence. (National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Companies Call For EAPs to Assist in Identifying and Helping Domestic Violence Victims — April 2007)

Child Abuse

Between Oct. 2005 and Sept. 2006 there were 91,278 babies less than 1 year old who were documented victims of child abuse or neglect. Of those, 29,881 were victims of abuse or neglect before they were 1 week old. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control, Nonfatal Maltreatment of Infants — United States, October 2005 — September 2006 — April 2008)

In 2006, approximately 1.430 children died in the United States from abuse and neglect. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control, Nonfatal Maltreatment of Infants — United States, October 2005 — September 2006 — April 2008)

An estimated 899,000 children were determined to be victims of child abuse or neglect in 2005. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children & Families, Child Maltreatment 2005 — March 2007)

Nearly 62 percent of child victims experience neglect. More than 16 percent are physically abused; almost 10 percent are sexually abused. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children & Families, Child Maltreatment 2005 — March 2007)

Children ages birth to 3 years have the highest rates of victimization. Boys and girls are victimized at similar rates. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children & Families, Child Maltreatment 2005 — March 2007)

In 2005, nearly 84 percent of child abuse victims were abused by a parent acting alone or with another person. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children & Families, Child Maltreatment 2005 — March 2007)

Of child abuse and neglect perpetrators, more than half (58 percent) are women; 42 percent are men. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children & Families, Child Maltreatment 2002 — 2004)

About 4 in 10 victims of intimate partner violence live in households with children under age 12. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. — December 2006)

Victims of child abuse and neglect are at greater risk for developing mental health disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (National Institute for Health Care Management, Children’s Mental Health: An Overview and Key Considerations for Health System Stakeholders — February 2005)

Stalking

Almost 60 percent of female and 30 percent of male victims are stalked by an intimate partner annually in the United States. (The National Center for Victims of Crime, Stalking Resource Center — October 2005)

About 10 percent of women and more than 2 percent of men will report being stalked by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, or date at some time during in their life. (The National Center for Victims of Crime, Stalking Resource Center — October 2005)

Only 28 percent of female stalking victims and 10 percent of male stalking victims obtained a protective order from the police. Sixty- nine percent of female victims and 81 percent of male victims had their protection order violated. (The National Center for Victims of Crime, Stalking Resource Center — October 2005).

More than 75 percent of intimate partner femicide (female murder) victims reported that they were being stalked by their intimate partner. (The National Center for Victims of Crime, Stalking Resource Center — October 2005)

Stalking may be an even more common precursor to intimate partner homicide than abuse. (U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment Validation Study — March 2005)

The majority of victims who did not report their victimization to the police thought the police would not or could not do anything on their behalf. These findings suggest that most victims of intimate partner violence do not consider the justice system an appropriate vehicle for resolving conflicts with intimates. (National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence — July 2000)

The average stalking duration by an intimate partner is 2.2 years. (The National Center for Victims of Crime, Stalking Resource Center — October 2005)

Elder Abuse

No one knows precisely how many older Americans are being abused, neglected, or exploited. While evidence accumulated to date suggests that many thousands have been harmed, there are no official national statistics because definitions of elder abuse vary, state statistics vary widely, as there is no uniform reporting system, and comprehensive national data is not collected. (The National Center on Elder Abuse, Elder Abuse Prevalence and Incidence — April 2005)

According to the best available estimates, between 1 million and 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection. (The National Center on Elder Abuse, Elder Abuse Prevalence and Incidence — April 2005)

Perpetrators in substantiated reports of elder abuse are about as likely to be female as male. Almost two in three perpetrators are family members, and almost one in three is a spouse or intimate partner. The second largest category of perpetrator in substantiated reports is that of adult child. (The National Center on Elder Abuse, A Response to the Abuse of Vulnerable Adults: The 2000 Survey of State Adult Protective Services)

It is estimated that for every one case of elder abuse, neglect, exploitation, or self-neglect reported to authorities, about five more go unreported. (The National Center on Elder Abuse, Elder Abuse Prevalence and Incidence — April 2005)

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Native Americans and Violent Crime

The annual average violent crime rate among American Indians is twice as high as that of blacks and 2.5 times that of whites. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, American Indians and Crime — December 2004)

The violent crime rate in every age group below age 35 is significantly higher for Native Americans than for all persons. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, American Indians and Crime — December 2004)

Rates of violent victimization for both males and females are higher for Native Americans than for all races. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, American Indians and Crime — December 2004)

The rate of violent victimization among Native American women is more than double that of all women. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, American Indians and Crime — December 2004)

Nearly 75 percent of the U.S. Attorney's Office investigations of Indian country suspects involve violent crimes. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, American Indians and Crime — December 2004)

Compared to all races, Native American children are almost twice as likely to experience child maltreatment and victimization. (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report — March 2006)

Compared to all races, Native Americans are almost twice as likely to experience a rape in their lifetime. (U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization — January 2006)

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Rape and Sexual Assault

Only about 19 percent of rapes against women and 13 percent of rapes against men are reported to police. (U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization — January 2006)

Persons age 18 or older experience an average of more than 987,000 rapes per year. (U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization — January 2006)

The single most often reason cited by women for not reporting rape is “fear of rapist.” (U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization — January 2006)

One in every 6 women and one in every 33 men have been raped at some point of their life. (U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Rape Victimization — January 2006)

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Teen and Youth Violence

The numbers of adolescents and young adults, now the most crime-prone segment of the population, are expected to grow rapidly over the next several years. (U.S. Department of Justice, FY 2004 Performance and Accountability Report — November 2004)

Youth violence, although international in scope, is greater in the United States, more likely to involve firearms, and more lethal in its consequences. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2001)

The odds of being a victim of a violent crime as a juvenile 12-17 years of age are greater than 2 to 1. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Juvenile Victimization and Offending, 1993-2003 — April 2005)

Nearly 70 percent of adolescents are estimated to fall victim to violent crime. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Persons ages 12 to 17 experience violent crime at rates twice as high as adults ages 18 and older. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Juvenile Victimization and Offending, 1993-2003 — April 2005)

One-third of all kidnap victims known to law enforcement are under the age of 18. (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report — March 2006)

Violent victimization during adolescence appears to be both a risk factor for and a cause of adult problems with regard to violent crime victimization, domestic violence perpetration and victimization, violent and property crime perpetration, and problem drug use. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Victims of violence in adolescence also tend to be victims of violence in adulthood. The odds of adult violent victimization are more than twice as high for those who are victims of violence in adolescence than for those who are not. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

In 2004, students ages 12-18 were victims of about 1.4 million non-fatal crimes at school, including 863,000 thefts and 583,000 violent crimes. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2006 — December 2006)

Being the victim of a crime at school is more prevalent for students ages 12 -14, but being the victim of a crime away from school is more prevalent for students ages 15-18. In both categories, males are more likely than females to be victims of violent crime. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Indicators of School Crime and Saftey, 2006 — December 2006)

Being either a perpetrator or a victim of violent crime as an adolescent increases the odds of being a perpetrator of violent crime as an adult by a factor of about 3.5. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Being both a perpetrator and a victim of violent crime as an adolescent increases the odds of perpetrating a violent crime as an adult by a factor of 13. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Adolescent victims of violence, compared to non-victims, are 50 percent more likely to be victims of violent crime and domestic violence, perpetrators of domestic violence, and problem drug users. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Nearly 16 percent of arrests for forcible rape and 20 percent of arrests for other sex offenses involved youths age 17 or younger. (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention — December 2006)

Male college students, compared to female college students, are twice as likely to be victims of overall violence. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violent Victimization of College Students, 1995-2002 — January 2005)

Only about 35 percent of violent crimes against college students are reported to the police. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violent Victimization of College Students, 1995-2002 — January 2005)

Except for rape or sexual assault, college students are most often violently victimized by someone they do not know. Victims of rape or sexual assault are about four times more likely to be victimized by someone they know than by strangers. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violent Victimization of College Students, 1995-2002 — January 2005)

Older students (ages 15 to 18) are less likely than younger students (ages 12 to 14) to be victims of crime at school, but older students are more likely than younger students to be victims of crime away from school. (Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics – 2007)

Twenty-eight percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school during the last 6 months. Of those students who reported being bullied, 24 percent reported that they had sustained an injury as a result of the incident. (Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2007, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics – 2007)

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Trauma, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is associated with the increased likelihood of co-occurring mental health and substance abuse. Approximately 88 percent of men and 79 percent of women with PTSD meet criteria for another psychiatric disorder. (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

The co-occurring disorders most prevalent for men with PTSD are alcohol abuse or dependence (52 percent), major depressive episodes (48 percent), conduct disorders (43 percent), and drug abuse and dependence (34 percent). (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

The co-occurring disorders most frequently associated with PTSD among women are major depressive disorders (49 percent), simple phobias (29 percent), social phobias (28 percent), and alcohol abuse or dependence (28 percent). (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Women are more than twice as likely than men to experience adult depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Approximately 8 percent of men and 20 percent of women develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and about 30 percent of those persons develop chronic, life-long PTSD. (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

Mental health problems in adolescence are clearly more closely correlated with violent victimization than with property victimization. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Adults who have been victims of violence during adolescence are twice as likely as others to report ever having had symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Violent victimization during adolescence nearly doubles the odds of problem illicit drug use in adulthood. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Adolescent mental health problems triple the odds of adult anxiety, double the odds of adult Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and also increase the odds of adult depression. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

Adolescent victims of violence, compared to non-victims, are twice as likely to experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and 3 times as likely to be serious violent offenders. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

An estimated 26 percent of Americans ages 18 and older suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. (National Institute of Mental Health)

Serious mental illness is highly correlated with substance abuse and dependence. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2002 National Survey on Drug Use & Health)

In the United States, nearly twice as many women (12.0 percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by a depressive disorder each year, translating to 12.4 million women and 6.4 million men. (National Institute of Mental Health)

Anxiety disorders, which include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, phobias, and generalized anxiety disorder, affect an estimated 18 percent of Americans ages 18 and older in a given year, or about 40 million adults. Women outnumber men in each illness category except for OCD and social phobia, in which both sexes have an equal likelihood of being affected. (National Institute of Mental Health)

Females are four times more likely to develop long-term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than males and have higher rates of co-occurring medical and psychiatric problems than males with the disorder. (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Research on Women, Trauma and PTSD — July 2007)

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Violent Crime — General

The odds of being a victim of a violent crime during adulthood are greater than 2 to 1. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

More than one in three (35 percent) of adults are estimated to fall victim to violent crime. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Youth Violence Research Bulletin — February 2002)

In 2005, U.S. residents age 12 or older experienced an estimated 23 million violent and property crimes. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey — September 2006)

Most murder victims (79 percent) and murderers (88 percent) are male. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Homicide Trends in the U.S. – Trends by Gender — July 2006)

More than 75 percent of victims know their offender. (U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey — September 2004)

Women are more likely than males to be victims of rape or sexual assault, but males are more likely to fall victim to violent crime, in general. (U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey — September 2006)

Females are most often violently victimized by someone they know, while males are more likely to be victimized by strangers. (U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey — September 2006)

Approximately 52 percent of violent victimizations are not reported to the police. (U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey — September 2004)

Violence against females is more likely to be reported (55 percent) than violence against males (42 percent). (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Reporting Crime to the Police, 1992-2001 — March 2003)

One of the most commonly cited reasons victims give for not reporting the crimes against them is that their victimization is a "private/personal matter." (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. — December 2006)

In 2005, about 16 million households experienced one or more property crimes or had a member age 12 or older who experienced one or more violent crimes. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Crime and the Nation's Households, 2005 — April 2007)

Estimates indicate that only 6 to 14 percent of chronic violent offenders are ever arrested for a serious violent crime. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2001)

In 2002, state courts convicted more than one million adults of a felony. Of those convicted felons, 28 percent were given probation with no jail or prison time, and approximately 20 percent of the total number of convicted felons were violent offenders. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Felony Sentences in State Courts, 2004 — July 2007)

The District of Columbia has the highest violent crime rate in the nation, followed by South Dakota and Tennessee. (U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2006 – Crime in the United States — September 2007)

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Criminal Offender Statistics *

In 2001, nearly three percent of adults in the United States served time in prison.

One in 15 people in the United States will serve time in prison at some point in their lifetime.

Nearly half of all jail and prison inmates are held or sentenced for violent crime or drug offenses.

More than half of jail inmates are on probation, parole, or pretrial release at the time of arrest.

In 2002, four in ten jail inmates had a current or past violent offense sentence.

Nearly one in three jail inmates grew up with a parent or guardian who abused alcohol or other drugs. About 12 percent lived in foster homes or institutions, and almost half had a family member who had been incarcerated.

More than half of women in jail say they have been physically or sexually abused in the past.

Approximately 40 percent of inmates serving time in jail for domestic violence had a criminal status (i.e. were on probation or parole, or under a restraining order) at the time of the offense for which they were incarcerated.

Approximately half of all domestic violence offenders had been drinking at the time of the offense.

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Workplace Violence

Overall, approximately 18 percent of violent crimes occur in the workplace. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99 — December 2001)

An average of 1.7 million violent crimes per year are committed against persons age 12 or older who are at work or on duty. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99 — December 2001)

The majority of workplace violent incidents — almost 19 in 20 — are aggravated or simple assaults. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99 — December 2001)

Less than 25 percent of workplace rape and sexual assaults are reported to the police, the lowest percentage when compared to other violent crimes in the workplace. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99 — December 2001)

The violent crime victimization rate for working or on duty males is 56 percent higher than the female rate. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99 — December 2001)

Except for rape and sexual assault, males experience all categories of workplace violent crime at higher rates and percentages than females. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99 — December 2001)

Persons employed in law enforcement are victimized while at work or on duty at the highest rate of all occupations, followed by those in the mental health field. Police officers account for about 11 percent of all workplace victimizations. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99 — December 2001)

Except for those in the mental health and teaching fields, workplace violence victims are more likely to be victimized by a stranger than by someone they know. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99 — December 2001)

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