South Carolina ranks sixth nationwide for highest rates of abuse
by Kimberlei Davis, Tue, October 24th 2023, 12:14 PM EDT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WACH) — With only a few days left in the month, WACH Fox 57 wants to continue to shine a light on Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the impact it has on our state.
Join us on Thursday, October 26 at 10 p.m. for our special, ‘When Love Hurts.’
Domestic Violence Awareness Month is an opportunity to continue the conversation about this important issue in all aspects of your life and show those who survived or mourn those lost to domestic violence that they are not alone.
Currently, South Carolina ranks six for the states with the highest rates of domestic violence.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), in South Carolina 42.3% of women and 29.2% of men experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.
In the United States, an estimated 10 million people experience domestic violence every year. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, about 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner. About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, and/or partner stalking with injury, PTSD, contraction of STDS, etc.
On a single day in 2020, South Carolina domestic violence programs served 620 victims of domestic violence and received 101 hotline calls, averaging four contacts per hour. 134 requests for services on this day could not be provided due to lack of resources.
Additional NCADV statistics:
- South Carolina law prohibits domestic violence misdemeanants from possessing firearms for a minimum of three years after conviction or release from confinement, whichever is later. This prohibition does not apply to dating partners.
- Judges in South Carolina are authorized, but not required, to prohibit respondents to final protective orders from possessing firearms.
- South Carolina can strengthen its laws to protect victims and survivors by prohibiting domestic violence, dating violence and stalking misdemeanants from possessing firearms, including same-sex couples, until they no longer have the status of misdemeanant;
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, several resources are available to help. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
