For the seventh consecutive year, the National Network To End Domestic Violence conducted a 24-hour survey of 1,643 participating domestic violence programs around the United States.  The results indicate that, on September 21, 2012, 64,324 victims received assistance with emergency shelter, transitional housing, legal aid, counseling, job training, and public benefits advocacy. Sixteen percent of the domestic violence programs provided assistance for victims with disabilities and 31% of programs offered bilingual services. Emergency hotlines around the country answered 20,821 phone calls, and 25,182 individuals participated in 1,162 training sessions on domestic violence prevention and intervention.

Because of limited resources 10,471 requests went unmet, including an overall shortage of funding and staff. There were 6,818 unmet requests for emergency shelter or transitional housing, often due to a lack of beds. The second highest unmet need was for legal representation. Victims of domestic violence enter the judicial system for a variety of reasons, including matters of custody, protection orders, divorce, child support, child protection, housing, and immigration. However, given the limited number of lawyers willing to take on pro bono cases, 11% of domestic violence programs were unable to provide needed legal representation to victims on September 12, 2012.

Despite inadequate resources, on September 12, 2012, advocates around the country demonstrated a strong commitment to providing assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Compiled from: “Domestic Violence Counts 2012,” National Network to End Violence (2013).

For More Information

Please see the Domestic Violence Training and Victim Advocacy portion of this website.