Clubs and Organizations

Justification

The extent and nature of power-based personal violence (sexual violence, partner violence, stalking and child abuse) in the United States is widely documented. Recent data indicates that 7.7% of women report being raped by a current or former partner at some point in their lifetime, 22.1% of women experience a physical assault by a current or former partner throughout their lifetime, and 4.8% of women report being a victim of stalking by their current or former partner at one point in their life (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). The extent of victimization among college women is greater than the overall population (Abbey, 1996; Brener, 1999; DeKeseredy, 1993; Fisher, 1997, 1998; Koss, 1987). For instance, the rate of completed and attempted rapes per 1,000 female college students is cited as 35.3 in a recent study employing a nationally representative sample of college women (Fisher et al., 2000). Projected across a woman’s college career, the authors suggest the percent of completed or attempted rapes may be between one-fifth and one-quarter for female college students (Fisher et al., 2000). While most of the research collected has focused on the victimization of women, due to their disproportionate high rates of victimization, research also suggests that up to 10% of rape victims are male and up to a third of sexual child abuse victims are also male.

Yet another problem that plagues our nation and occurs with alarming and disturbing frequency is child abuse – impacting both boys and girls. According to Child Maltreatment 2006, the most recent report of data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), approximately 905,000 children were found to be victims of child abuse or neglect in calendar year 2006 (Administration for Children and Families, 2008). In 2006, the rate of victimization was 12.1 children per 1,000 children. This number is already far too high but it bears mentioning that in a previous Child Maltreatment Report from 2003 the rate of child abuse was estimated to be 3 times greater than reported. As if these numbers alone are not a compelling enough reason to engage in effective prevention efforts, one third of abused and neglected children will eventually victimize their own children continuing the cycle of abuse. Taken together these facts render prevention nothing short of a necessity. Unfortunately, Kentucky is not immune from these norms. More than 1 in 3 women in Kentucky will be victims of intimate partner violence across their lifetime and more than 14,000 cases of child abuse were substantiated last year.