• Every nine seconds in the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten.
• On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.
• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of [some form of] physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.
• 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
• 1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed.
• On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic-violence hotlines nationwide.
• The presence of a gun in a domestic-violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.
• Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
• Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner.
• 19% of domestic violence involves a weapon.
• Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior.
• Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.
• 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.
• A study of intimate partner homicides found that 20% of victims were not the intimate partners themselves, but family members, friends, neighbors, persons who intervened, law-enforcement responders or bystanders.
• 72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; and 94% of the victims of these murder-suicides are female.
• Women abused by their intimate partners are more vulnerable to contracting HIV or other sexually transmitted illness due to forced intercourse or prolonged exposure to stress
• Victims of intimate partner violence lose a total of 8 million days of paid work each year.
• The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $8.3 billion per year.
• Between 21-60% of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs due to reasons stemming from the abuse.
• Between 2003 and 2008, 142 women were murdered in their workplace by their abuser, 78% of women killed in the workplace during this timeframe. (Click here to download the report.)

• Include information about domestic violence and local resources in church bulletins and newsletters and on websites.
• Place copies of brochures and/or other information, including local telephone numbers for assistance about domestic violence, in the restroom(s).
• Keep an updated list of resources for abused women. This can be a project for the church council, social justice committee, or women's group.
• Find a staff person or volunteer who is willing to receive in-depth training on domestic violence; ask this person to serve as a resource and to help educate others about abuse.
• Provide training on domestic violence to all church ministers, including priests, deacons and lay ministers. When possible, provide opportunities for them to hear directly from victims of violence.
• Join in the national observance of October as "Domestic Violence Awareness Month." Dedicate at least one weekend that month to inform parishioners about domestic abuse. During that month, make available educational and training programs in order to sensitize men and women, girls and boys to the personal and social effects of violence in the family. Help them to see how psychological abuse may escalate over time. Teach them how to communicate without violence.

• In sermons, include a reference to domestic violence when appropriate. Just a mention of domestic violence lets abused women know that someone cares. Describe what abuse is so that women begin to recognize and name what is happening to them.
• In reconciliation services, identify violence against women as a sin.
• Include intercessions for victims of abuse, people who abuse people, and those who work with them.
• If you suspect abuse, ask direct questions. Ask the woman if she is being hit or hurt at home. Carefully evaluate her response. Some women do not realize they are being abused, or they lie to protect their spouses. Be careful not to say anything that will bolster her belief that it is her fault and that she must change her behavior.
• Have an action plan in place to follow if an abused woman calls on you for help. This includes knowing how and where to refer her for help. This will be easier if you have already established contact with local shelters and domestic violence agencies.
• Include a discussion of domestic violence in marriage preparation sessions. If violence has already begun in the relationship, it will only escalate after marriage.
• In baptismal preparation programs, be alert that the arrival of a child and its attendant stress may increase the risk of domestic violence.

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