The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has released the results of a two-year study on domestic violence in Tennessee.
It examined self-reported domestic violence cases in the state between 2010 and 2012.
Overall, the T-B-I reports domestic violence decreased statewide by 3-point-four percent over the two-year study period. But the agency cautions the decrease doesn’t necessarily show a trend: Researchers say they can’t count offenses victims choose not to report, and analysts say domestic violence continues to be underreported in the state.
Among the numbers that were reported, ten percent of victims were juveniles, and the study found each year, more than half of those victims were abused by one or more of their parents. The study found the overwhelming majority of crimes against adults involved simple assault, while over the study period, homicides stemming from domestic violence decreased 22 percent.
The report also found the majority of victims were female, outnumbering male victims by three to one, and that most victims were white, especially in crimes of statutory rape and incest.