Massachusetts - Children and Domestic Violence

• Approximately four of 10 (43 percent) female victims of intimate partner violence lived in households with children under age 12. Population estimates suggest that 29 percent of US households have children under the age of 12. Rennison, C and Welchans, S (2000). Intimate Partner Violence, BJS, Office of Justice Programs.
• The maltreatment of children and violence against women go hand in hand. As many as half a million children may be encountered by police during domestic violence arrests. There is an overlap of 30 to 60 percent between violence against children and violence against women in the same families. (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2000). Safe from the Start. US DOJ, Office of Justice Programs.)
• In Massachusetts, an estimated 43,000 children a year are exposed to reported acts of abuse and violence between family members, according to the Registry of Civil Restraining Orders. Adams, Sandra (1995). The tragedies of domestic violence: A qualitative analysis of civil restraining orders in Massachusetts. Office of the Commisioner of Probation.