Low income linked to abusive relationship

One quarter of women and 13% of men in South Carolina report that they have experienced abuse in an intimate relationship, with poorer people being at the greatest risk, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In a survey of 556 South Carolina residents aged 18 to 64, investigators found that a substantial number had suffered physical, emotional or sexual abuse from an intimate partner. While women were three to five times more likely than men to have been physically or sexually abused, men reported emotional abuse as often as women did. Eight percent of men and 7% of women said they had been emotionally abused by a partner at some point in their lives.

In addition, people who earned less than $15,000 annually were nearly five times more likely to report abuse compared with those who incomes exceeded $50,000. The findings are published in the August 4th issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

According to the CDC, South Carolina health officials plan to use surveys to monitor intimate partner violence among state residents. The results, the agency reports, will be distributed to "increase awareness of this public health problem, to stress the unacceptability of intimate partner violence," and to aid in the development of crisis hotlines, shelters, and counseling programs for victims of abuse.

Reference Source 89