Injury 101

Violence / Intentional Injury

The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation. (The World Report on Violence and Health) An injury which is judged to have been purposely inflicted, either by the self or another (Rice et al., 1989).  Examples are assaults, homicides, self-inflicted injuries and suicides (Maine Injury Prevention Web site).

Facts on Violence / Intentional Injuries

Within the past 15 years, violence and intentional injuries have become part of the purview of Public Health (IOM, 1999). In 2004, homicide was the second leading cause of death for people age 15-24, and suicide was the second leading cause of death for those ages 25-34 (National Center for Health Statistics, 2004) (Doll et al., 2006).

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Suicide

• In 2006, more than 33,300 suicides occurred in the U.S. This is the equivalent of 91 suicides per day; one suicide every 15.8 minutes or 11.1 suicides per 100,000 population.
• 372,722 people received medical care in U.S. Emergency Departments for self-inflicted injuries in 2005. (CDC 2007).
• Males are 4 times more likely to complete a suicide than females, yet females are 3 times more likely to attempt a suicide than males (American Association for Suicidology, 2004).
• The rate of suicide for adults aged 65 years and older was 14.7 per 100,000.

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Sexual Violence

• According to the National Violence Against Women Survey(2000), 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men in the United States has experienced an attempted or completed rape at some time in their lives.
• In 8 out of 10 rape cases, the victim knows the perpetrator (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000).
• Young age, alcohol / drug abuse, prior history of sexual violence, multiple sex partners, and poverty all represent vulnerability factors for victimization of sexual violence (CDC 2005).
• 54% of women rape victims from the National Violence Against Women Survey(2000) surveyed were victimized when they were younger than age 18.

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Intimate Partner Violence

• Nearly 5.3 million incidents of Intimate Partner Victimizations (IPV) occur each year among U.S. women ages 18 and older, and 3.2 million occur among men. (Tjaden and Thoennes 2000a).
• IPV results in nearly 2 million injuries and 1,300 deaths nationwide every year. (CDC 2006)
• A national study found that 29% of women and 22% of men had experienced physical, sexual, or psychological IPV during their lifetime (Coker et al. 2002).

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Child Maltreatment

• Data on the confirmed number of U.S. child maltreatment cases in 2002 are available from child protective service agencies; but these data are generally considered underestimates (DHHS 2005):
• 905,000 children were victims of maltreatment in 2006 (HHS 2006)
• 64 percent of the children were classified as victims of child neglect; 7 percent as victims of emotional abuse; 9 percent as victims of sexual abuse; and 16 percent as victims of physical abuse (HHS 2006).
• An estimated 1,500 children were confirmed to have died from maltreatment; 36% of these deaths were from neglect, 28% from physical abuse, and 29% from multiple maltreatment types (HHS 2006).
• Shaken-baby syndrome (SBS) is a form of child abuse affecting between 1,200 and 1,400 children every year. SBS is a collection of signs and symptoms resulting from violently shaking an infant or child (National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome 2007).

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Youth Violence

• 5,686 young people age 10 to 24 were murdered-an average of 16 each day-in 2005 (CDC 2008).
• Over 720,000 violence-related injuries in young people age 10 to 24 were treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 2006 (CDC 2008).
• Among 10 to 24 year-olds, homicide is the leading cause of death for African Americans; the second leading cause of death for Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders; and the third leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives (CDC 2008a)
• Of the 5,958 homicides reported in 2006 among 10 to 24 year olds, 86% were males and 14% were females (CDC 2006).
• Direct and indirect costs of youth violence (e.g., medical, lost productivity, quality of life) exceed $158 billion every year (Children's Safety Network Economics & Data Analysis Resource Center 2000).

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