Emergency Room Visits by Women: Another DV Myth Bites the Dust
Have you ever heard the myth that 22% of all visits by women to emergency rooms (ERs) are for injuries from domestic assaults?
The claim, of course, is ludicrous. The true percentage is less than 1%. But how can you prove it? Here’s how:
1. Total number of adult (15+ years old) women in US (2000): 115.1 million women (US Census Bureau)
2. Total number of ER visits by adult (18+ years old) women (1997): 23.2 million visits (Health, United States, 2009, Table 89)
3. Total number of ER visits by adult women for violence-related injuries committed by a husband, ex-husband, or boyfriend/girlfriend (1994): 204,400 visits (BJS: Violence-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments, August 1997, Table 7)
4. Percentage of ER visits by adult women for intimate partner aggression (3 divided by 2): 0.88% (in other words, less than 1%)
In his book Abused Men, Phil Cook states the same conclusion on page 129.
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