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DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
BY THE NUMBERS
In Texas…
2,632
Texas women have been killed in family violence since 1990.
223,000
Texans called family violence hotlines in the past year.
79,000
people, mostly women and children, sought services from family violence
programs in the last year.
5,598
family-violence members were served each day by Texas programs in 2011.
8,028
unmet requests that Texas Health and Human Services Commission reported for
fiscal year 2012.
45%
of family violence programs report insufficient funding.
27%
of young Texans have been victims of physical dating violence. Adding emotional
and verbal abuse, the percentage rises to almost 50%.
In the U.S…
1.3
million are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.
$5.8
billion is the cost of intimate-partner violence each year.
$4.1
billion is spent for direct medical and mental health services for family-violence
victims.
Twice
as likely are the chances that boys who witness domestic violence will abuse
their own partners and children as adults.
(Sources:
Texas Council on Family Violence; 2011 National Census on Domestic Violence
Services; National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)
To help equip faith leaders and advocates with the tools
and knowledge to address the issues of abuse, you may donate to FaithTrust Institute Advance #951160.
Message from the Bishop
“Let’s unite in the effort to end
abuse. Domestic violence is something the Church cannot ignore. It affects our
families. It affects our children. It prevents us from living into the fullness
of the loving and grace-filled community Christ calls us to be. This October, we
encourage you to promote awareness within your congregations and communities.
Let’s join the movement to make North Texas a safe place for women, children,
and families. For a downloadable list of resources, go to
northtexasumc.org/pdfs/Domestic-Violence-Resources-2014.pdf.
“Sunday is the most violent day of the
week, experts say. Domestic violence is a
reality in all of our communities, and we as the Church must admit that and
work to end it. I am asking all North Texas United Methodists, lay and clergy,
young people and adults, to come together to say no to domestic violence. Here
are a few examples of how to begin our work together.
*Pastors
will not tell domestic violence victims to go home and be better wives. They
will listen to them and offer to help.
*Laity
will not ask “Why does she stay?” They will ask him, “Why are you hurting her?”
*Youth
will know that dating-violence is unacceptable.
*And
even the abusers in our midst will know that their behavior must stop and that
counseling and other forms of help are available.
We
are a compassionate, empathetic annual conference. We know that there is a
problem and we care about others. The Bible teaches that we are to have loving
relationships built on the love of Christ as found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is
patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It
does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not
rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”
For
escape plans, signs of abuse and the effects of abuse on children, go to northtexasumc.org/domestic-violence.html.
--from
North Texas Conference Connection--
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