Domestic and Sexual Violence in Virginia - Virginia Attorney General

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eporting purposes, the Incident Based Reporting Systemused by the Virginia Department of State Police defines“forcible sexual offenses” as forcible rape, forcible sodomy,sexual assault with an object, and forcible fondling. “Nonforciblesexual offenses” include incest and statutoryrape. 14 For federal reporting purposes, the Federal Bureauof Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting Systemdefines a forcible rape as “the carnal knowledge of a femaleforcibly and against her will.” Sexual offenses are definedas “offenses against chastity, common decency, morals,and the like” and include sodomy, incest, statutory rape,indecent exposure, indecent liberties, and attemptedsexual offenses. 151 in 3: Almost one in threeforcible sex offenses reported to lawenforcement agencies in 2007 involvedvictimization by a family or householdmember, or an intimate dating partner. 161 in 3: Roughly one in threehomicides from 1999 to 2006 wererelated to family and intimate partnerDomestic and Sexual Violence OffensesThe ultimate tragedy in any domestic violence case ishomicide. In 2006, there were 138 domestic violencehomicides. Ninety (90) of these homicides were attributedto intimate partner or intimate partner-related violencein Virginia. 18 Deaths from domestic violence represented33% of the total homicides in 2006.Based upon a preliminary analysis of homicide data for2007, there were at least 107 domestic violence homicides,of which 70 homicides have been attributed to intimatepartner or intimate partner-related violence. So far, deathsfrom domestic violence represent roughly 25% of the totalhomicides in 2007. 19 As investigation continues in many ofthese cases, the total number of domestic violence-relatedhomicides in 2007 may change.Since 1999, close to one in three homicides has beenrelated to family and intimate partner violence. Despitechanges in law, policy, and practice during this eight yearperiod, the proportion of domestic violence homicideshas remained relatively consistent on a yearly basis. 20An alarming aspect of the statistics regarding family andintimate partner homicides is the data regarding thepresence of children during homicide events. Whileadditional data is still being collected for homicides thatviolence. 17 * 2007 numbers reflect preliminary findings as of October 24, 2008** Homicides as defined and captured by the Office of the Chief Medical ExaminerSource: Virginia Department of Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner2
Table 1: Children Present During Familyand Intimate Partner Homicides, 2005Saw the homicide 8Attacked by perpetrator and survived 5Heard the injury inflicted 5Found the homicide victim 4Other 21 34Total present during homicide events 56Source: Virginia Department of Health,Office of the Chief Medical Examineroccurred in 2006 and 2007, according to data releasedby the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in July2007, a total of 56 children were present during the 147family or intimate partner homicide events that occurredin 2005. This figure includes children who saw or heardthe homicide occur; children who were also attacked bythe alleged perpetrator and survived; and children whofound the homicide victim.According to offense reporting statistics, a majority offorcible sex offenses occurred outside of a domesticviolence context. A sizeable percentage of the incidents(41%), however, were committed by perpetrators knownby or acquainted with the victim. Of the remainingoffenses reported, 21% were committed by unknownassailants and 8% were committed by strangers. 26(Figure 3) The majority of forcible sex offenses (71%)were nonstranger offenses, emphasizing the significanceof interpersonal relationships in sexual assault cases. 27There were 1,430 arrests in 2007 for sexual offensesincluding forcible rape, forcible sodomy, sexual assaultwith an object, forcible fondling, incest, and statutory rape,representing approximately one percent of all recordedarrests by law enforcement agencies across the Commonwealth.Arrests of juveniles accounted for 20% of theserecorded arrests. Ninety-one percent of the arrests forsexual offenses were for forcible offenses. 28 (Table A-1,Appendix A)Domestic violence also plays a role in other violent crimes,including aggravated assault, simple assault, and forciblesex offenses. In 2007, approximately 13% of 22,792violent crimes committed in Virginia and reported to lawenforcement agencies were committed against family orhousehold members, or intimate dating partners. 22 Ofthe 22,792 violent crimes reported, 9,689 were aggravatedassault incidents involving 11,125 victims. Theseaggravated assault crimes include assaults, attemptedmurder, poisoning, assault with a deadly weapon, maiming,mayhem, assault with explosives, and assault with disease(knowledge of infection and attempt to infect another).Of the total aggravated assaults reported, 19% werecommitted against family members, household members,or dating partners. 23 (Figure 2)The total number of violent crimes reported in 2007also includes 5,009 forcible sex offenses involving 5,317victims. Forcible sex offenses reported include forciblerape, forcible sodomy, sexual assault with an object, andforcible fondling. Of the reported victims of forciblesex offenses, 87% were female. Nearly two-thirds (61%)of reported victims, both male and female, were underthe age of eighteen. 24 Approximately 1,497, or 28%, ofthe forcible sex offenses involved offenses committedagainst family or household members or intimate datingpartners. 25Source: Crime in Virginia, Virginia State Police3
Page 1: Domestic andSexual Violencein Virgi
Page 4 and 5: DOMESTIC ANDSEXUAL VIOLENCEIN VIRGI
Page 6 and 7: ExecutiveSummaryOn a daily basis, d
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Page 13 and 14: Source: Domestic Violence Services
Page 15 and 16: children and youth and made increas
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Page 19 and 20: for the prevention of family violen
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Page 23 and 24: tims of domestic violence who have
Page 25 and 26: developed pursuant to Senate Bill 2
Page 27 and 28: improve the functioning and effecti
Page 29 and 30: Virginia Department of Health,Divis
Page 31 and 32: grant assists homeless families in
Page 33 and 34: To accomplish its mission, VSDVAA r
Page 35 and 36: COLLABORATIVE EFFORTSIn addition to
Page 37 and 38: 2008 LegislativeUpdateDuring the 20
Page 39: FutureRecommendationsAs evidenced i
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Page 48 and 49: Domestic Violenceand Sexual Assault
Page 50 and 51: Carroll CountyFamily Resource Cente
Page 52 and 53: Greene CountySexual Assault Resourc
Page 54 and 55: Mecklenburg CountyMadeline’s Hous
Page 56 and 57: Total Action Against PovertyWomen
Page 58 and 59: Crisis CenterP.O. Box 642Bristol, V
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Local FatalityReview TeamsChesterfi
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The design and printing of this Ann
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Domestic and Sexual Violence in Virginia - Virginia Attorney General

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