A new study on domestic violence in Tennessee found that almost 15% of all crimes reported in the state are domestic in nature. The study from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation analyzed more than 40,000 incidents of domestic violence involving spouses, children, grandparents or extended family in 2012. It found that women are twice as likely to be victimized as men and children are victims in 16% of all cases of family violence. More than half of offenses against children are simple assault, and 45% of those are committed by parents. An analysis of the effects of drugs and alcohol on family violence found that more than 17% of domestic violence involves drugs or alcohol, with alcohol being more common.
But the report is drawing criticism from the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic & Sexual Violence for omitting around 40,000 domestic violence incidents involving unmarried and same-sex couples. Executive Director Kathy Walsh told the Tennessean newspaper that authorities can’t deal with the issue of domestic violence if the very definition filters out cases that involve unmarried couples.
