Violence Stats and Education

I was reading an article this morning on a vigil in memory of Lori Hacking, the Utah woman who was fatally shot and dumped in the county landfill by her husband a little over a year ago. It brought to mind some things I learned about violence statistics recently.

The other night Tom and I attended a planning meeting of the Utah chapter of the Department of Peace Project to check it out and see how the organizations we represent can help. (I am currently awaiting word from some folks in the GPUS on the Green Party’s position on the Department of Peace.)

We learned some alarming statistics about violence in Utah the other night.
These are statistics from a variety of sources, including the Utah Dept of Public Safety, Victim Advocates’ Program, Utah Dept of child and Family Services, Domestic Violence Incidence and Prevalence Study, U.S. Bureau of Justice Assitance, etc.

While there are national stats as well, today I’ll just post the stats on Utah:

• 2.31 rapes, .12 homicides, 9.32 aggravated assaults (use of a weapon) in a 24 hour period.
• 144,075 children witness domestic violenc in Salt Lake County per year.
• in 2001, totoal of 4,875 victims of child abuse in Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties
• 60% of Utah victims of abuse or neglect were under the age of 10, with those from birth to 5 years being the largest group.
• an average of 11 domestic violence homicides occur each year
• 13,235 domestic violence police incident reports were filed in a single year in SL county
• 1 in 8 Utah women has experienced physical abuse
• 14% of women surveyed in Utah reported experiencing domestic violence on a daily, weekly or monthly basis
• Utah ranks 13th highest in the nation in rape rates – higher than New York and California
• In 2003, there were 44 homicides, 873 rapes and 3,549 aggravated assauts crimes
• 70% of children who grew up in violent homes will end up in violent adult relationships. boys who witness domestic violence are 10 times more liekly to abuse their female partners as adults.
• 85% of children who witness domestic violence begin to drink as early as age 11.
• 88% of women and 32% of men withe developmental disabilities are victims of sexual assault.
• 50% of homeless women are fleeing a domestic violence situation.
• 70% of men in court-ordered treatment for domestic violence witness it as a child.
• 1 in 3 children who witness domestic violence is likely to continue the cycle of violence in the next generation
• 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys will be sexually abused before age 18.
• being abused or neglected as a child increases the likelihood of arrest for a violent crime as an adult by 38%

And guess what??? There is little to no funding for education to help reduce these statistics on violence in our communities.

The Department of Peace, HR 3760 and SB 1756, is aimed heavily at providing education in all schools and in adult learning situations to help reduce these statistics and begin the paradigm shift of incorporating non-violence principals in personal lives, in our communities, in our nation and globally. One of the highlighted elements would be to incorporate programs that have been implemented and are already working into other educational settings across the country, creating a network of non-violence programs. This, in turn will produce a society where peace and non-violence are the prevailing themes and more money would ultimately be spent on peace/non-violence initiatives and social programs rather than war and military projects.

The key, folks, is education, education, education. I will be urging my legislators to push this project through. And you can bet, as an educator and activist, I will be following the implementation of education programs in our schools and communities. The goal would be to eventually have a planet virtually free of war and violence. This, of course, will not make a complete shift in our lifetimes, but the foundation hopefully will be in place for the building blocks towards that goal.