Article: Intimate Violence Costs Billions

Intimate violence of the sort that allegedly claimed the lives of Laci Peterson and her unborn child costs billions of dollars every year, according to a federal report released today.

The health-related costs of rape, physical assault, stalking and homicide by intimate partners exceed $5.8 billion each year, with nearly $4.1 billion spent on direct medical and mental health services, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An estimated 5.3 million U.S. women over the age of 17 are victimized every year, leaving nearly 2 million of them injured, with more than 550,000 of them requiring medical attention, according to the study, released in conjunction with a CDC Injury Center national conference called "Safety in Numbers."


In addition, victims of intimate violence lose a total of nearly 8 million days of paid work, or the the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs, accounting for $1.8 billion in lost productivity, the report said. Also lost are nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity.

"Violence against women harms more than its direct victim," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson."It also harms the children, the abuser and the entire health of all our families and communities."

More Than 1,200 Homicides

"Violent acts against women don't end with visits to the emergency room," said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. "Intimate partner violence costs women and their families a high price financially, physically and emotionally."

Intimate partner violence is defined as violence committed by a spouse, ex-spouse, current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.

CDC researchers, who examined data from the 1995 National Violence Against Women Survey for the study, said the report likely underestimates the costs of intimate violence in the country.

During the same year that was used to collect the data for the report, 1,252 women 18 years old and older were killed by an intimate partner, according to data obtained from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports Supplementary Homicide Reports.

The report does not estimate costs related to the legal system, police investigations, trials and prison sentences.