Fact Sheet on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the
African American Community

STATISTICS

• In a nationally representative survey, 29% of African American women and 12% of African American men report at least one instance of violence from an intimate partner. 1
• African Americans account for 1/3 of the intimate partner homicides in this country 2 and have an intimate partner homicide rate four times that of whites. 3
• Black women comprise 8% of the U.S. population but account for 20% of the intimate partner homicide victims. 2
• Between 1976-1999, intimate partner deaths among African Americans decreased by 67%. 2 Intimate partner deaths have decreased most dramatically among black men: from 1976-1984, black men were more likely than black women to be a victim of domestic homicide; by 1996, black women were 1.6 times more likely to murdered by their mates. 2

RISK FACTORS

• As with other groups, intimate partner violence among African Americans is related to economic factors. Intimate partner violence among blacks occur more frequently among couple that have low income, those in which the male partner is underemployed or unemployed, 4 particularly when he is not seeking work, 5 and among couples residing in very poor neighborhoods, regardless of the couple's income. 6
• When income and neighborhood characteristics are controlled for, racial differences in IPV are greatly reduced. 4,6
• Alcohol problems (drinking, binge drinking, dependency) are more frequently related to intimate partner violence for African Americans than for whites or Hispanics. 7
• As with other abusive men, African American men who batter are higher in jealousy and the need for power and control in the relationship. 5
• Among African American women killed by their partner, the lethal violence was more likely to occur if there had been incidents in which the partner had used or threatened to use a weapon on her and/or the partner has tried to choke or strangle her. 5
• Among African American women killed by their partner, almost half were killed while in the process of leaving the relationship, highlighting the need to take extra precautions at this time. 5
• Among African American women who killed their partner, almost 80% had a history of abuse. 5
• As with other women, domestic violence is more likely to end in the serious injury or death of black women when there is a history of her partner having used or threatened to use a gun or knife or the partner has tried to choke or strangle her. 5

IMPACT OF ABUSE

• Black women who are battered have more physical ailments, 8 mental health issues, 4 are less likely to practice safe sex, 9 and are more likely to abuse substances during pregnancy 10 than black women without a history of abuse.
• Battered women are at greater risk for attempting suicide 11 particularly if they were physically abused as a child, for being depressed 12 and to suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 13

DYNAMICS OF ABUSE

• Domestic violence re-occurs. In a large sample of battered black women, in about half of the cases in which abuse happened, the violence did not happen again; however, over 1/3 of women reporting abuse had at least one other incident of severe domestic violence in the same year, and one in six experienced another less severe act of domestic violence. 5
• Women attempt to leave abusive relationships. Seventy to eighty percent of abused black women left or attempted to leave the relationship. 5
• Women do better in abusive relationships when they have the support of friends and family. Battered black women who reported that they could rely on others for emotional and practical support were less likely to be re-abused, 14 showed less psychological distress, 15 and were less likely to attempt suicide. 11
  

TEEN DATING VIOLENCE

• Black youth are over represented as victims and perpetrators of teen dating violence. In a sample of middle school students, almost half (46%) of the black students who dated had been a victim of partner violence and 29% had perpetrated partner violence. 15
• African American girls are as likely as boys to slap or hit their partner, 17 but studies of racially diverse groups find that girls are more likely than boys to be violent with their partner in self defense 17 and to be injured as a result of dating violence 18

References

1.Tjaden, P. & Thoennes, N. (2000). Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey . Washington, DC.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Program.

2.Fox, J.A. Uniform Crime Reports [ United States ]: Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976-1999 [Computer File] . ICPRS version. Boston , Ma: Northeastern University College of Criminal Justice [producer], 2001. Ann Arbor , Mi.: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor],2001.

3. Greenfield , L.A. , Rand, J.R.,Crave, D., Klaus, P., Perkins, C., Ringel, C., (1998). Violence by intimates: Analysis of data on crimes by current or former spouses, boyfriends, and girlfriends. Washington , D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

4. Hampton , R.L. & Gelles, R.J. (1994). Violence toward black women in a nationally representative sample of black families. Journal of Comparative Family Studies , 25 , 105-119.

5. Jenkins, Block, & Campbell (2004). Risk of death and serious injury for abused African American women. In V. PottieBunge, C.R. Block, & M. Lane (eds.)., Linking data to practice in homicide and violence prevention: Proceedings of the 2004 Homicide Research Working Group Annual symposium. Chicago : HRWG Publication.

6 .Benson, M., Wooldredge, J., Thistlethwaite, A., Fox, G. (2004). The correlations between race and domestic violence is confounded with community context. Social Problems , 51 , 326-342

7. Caetano, R., Schafer, J., & Cunradi, C. (2001). Alcohol-related intimate partner violence among Whites, Black and Hispanics. Alcohol Research & Health , 25 , 58-65.

8. Schollenberger, J., Campbell , H., Sharps,P., O'Campo, P., Gielen, A.C., Dienemann, J. & Kub, J. (2003). African American HMO enrollees: Their experiences with partner abuse and its effect on their health and use of medical services. Violence Against Women , 9 , 599-618 .

9. Wingood, G.M. & DiClemente, R.J. (1997). The effects of an abusive primary partner on the condom sue and sexual negotiation practices of African American women. American Journal of Public Health, 87 , 1016-1018 .

10. McFarlane, J., Parker, B., Soeken, K. (1996). Physical abuse, smoking, and substance use during pregnancy: Prevalence, interrelationships, and effects on birth weight. Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Neonatal Nursing , 25 , 313-320.

11. Kaslow , N.J. , Thompson, M.P., Meadows, L.A. , Jacobs., Chance, S., Gibb, B. et al. (1998). Factors that mediate and moderate the link between partner abuse and suicidal behavior in African American women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 66, 533-540.

12. Goodman, L., Bennett, L. Dutton, M.A. (1999). Obstacles to victims' cooperation with the criminal prosecution of their abusers: The role of social support. Violence and Victims , 14 , 427-444.

13. Leskin, G.A., Block, CR., Campbell , J. (2003). Ethnic differences in intimate partner violence an PTSD: results from the Chicago women's Health Risk Study. In C.R. Block and R. Block (eds.), Public health and criminal justice approaches to homicide research: Proceeding of the 2003 Homicide Research Working Group Annual Symposium. Chicago : HRWG Pubications.

14. Goodman, L.A. & Dutton, M.A. (July, 2003). Predicting re-abuse one year later. Paper presented at the 8th International Family Violence Research Conference, Portsmouth , NH .

15. Thompson, M.P., Kaslow , N.J. , Kingree, JH.B., Rashid, A., Puett, R., Jacobs, D. & Matthews,A. (2000). Partner violence, social support, and distress among inner-city African American women. American Journal of Community Psychology , 28 , 127-13.

16.Foshee, V., Linder, G.F., Bauman, I.E., Langwick , S.A. , Arriaga, X., Heath, J. McMahon, P., Bangdiwala, S. (1996). The safe dates project: Theoretical basis, evaluation design, and selected baseline findings. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , 12 , 39-47.

17.O'Keefe, M. (1997). Predictors of dating violence among high school students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 12 , 546-568.

18.Foshee, V. (1996) Gender differences in adolescent dating abuse prevalence, types and injuries. Health Education Research , 11 , 275-286.