FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE- By The Numbers

FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE- By The Numbers


0 – Number of district attorneys in the United States who routinely prosecute false allegations of domestic violence.

25 – Estimated percentage of divorces in which an allegation of domestic violence is made .

32 – Number of states with civil definitions of domestic “violence” that include being afraid, fearful, apprehensive, or experiencing emotional distress .

48 – Number of states in which judges awarding child custody are required to consider allegations or findings of domestic violence .

50 – Percentage of restraining orders in which physical assault is not even alleged, according to an authoritative Massachusetts study.

70 – Percentage of restraining orders that are trivial or false .

85 – Percentage of all restraining orders that are issued against men (the remaining 15% are against women).

2000 – Estimated number of taxpayer dollars spent for the issuing, servicing, and adjudicating of one restraining order.

2005 – The year in which a restraining order was served on TV personality David Letterman for allegedly beaming televised code words and seductive eye gestures at Colleen Nestler, a woman whom Letterman had never met.

700,000 – Number of persons wrongfully arrested for domestic violence each year .

1.5 million – Number of temporary restraining orders issued each year in the United States that are trivial or false .

20 billion – Number of dollars that taxpayers spend each year for welfare and public benefit services arising from false allegations of domestic violence that force children into single-parent households .

References:
1. Allen DW, Brinig M. Anticipated and unanticipated legal changes:
The case of joint parenting. February 2007. Table 7, Column 2.

2. SAVE. Expanding Definitions of Domestic Violence. Rockville, MD.
2010.
http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/Expanding-Definitions-of-Domestic-Violence

3. American Bar Association. Custody decisions in cases with domestic
violence allegations.
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/childcustody/domestic_violence_chart1.pdf

4. Massachusetts Trial Court Office of the Commissioner of Probation.
Restraining Order Violators, Corrective Programming, and Recidivism.
Boston, MA. November 1, 2004.

5. SAVE. The Use and Abuse of Domestic Restraining Orders. Rockville,
MD. 2010. http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/VAWA-Restraining-Orders

6. Young C. Domestic Violence: An In-depth Analysis. Washington, DC:
Independent Women’s Forum, 2005. p. 25.

7. Watson B. The High Price of Restraining Orders. Daily Finance. March
30, 2010.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/03/30/the-high-price-of-restraining-orders/

8. SAVE. Arrest Policies for Domestic Violence. Rockville, MD. 2010.
http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/Justice-Denied-DV-Arrest-Policies

9. SAVE. What is the Cost of False Allegations of Domestic Violence?
Rockville, MD. 2010.
http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/False-DV-Allegations-Cost-20-Billion

10. SAVE. How False Allegations Harm Families and Children. Rockville,
MD. 2010.
http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/False-Allegations-Harm-Families-and-Children