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While my stories are works of fiction, the issues that touch the characters are not. In fact, they are decidedly prevalent in modern society.
Below is a sampling of data and nonfiction resources that have informed my narrative.
Domestic violence is a global epidemic
Globally, World Health Organization statistics indicate that 30% of women have suffered violence committed by their partner.
In the United States, physical violence is estimated to occur in four to six million intimate relationships each year.
Between 133 and 275 million children in the world are estimated to witness domestic violence annually.
Many children who are present during acts of domestic violence try to help. A study conducted in the United States and supported by UNICEF found that in 15% of incidents of domestic violence where children were present, they tried to prevent the violence, and another 10% actively tried to intervene to protect the victim.
A 2003 study indicated that the more severe the abuse against the mother. the more likely a child is to attempt to intervene in an incident.
While parricide remains rare, accounting for about 2% of homicides, most cases involve teenagers who kill abusive parents. Many parricides occur when a child is on the cusp of independence, about to break away from an abusive parent’s domination. Most have above average intelligence and are generally well-adjusted in school and the community, though they tend to be isolated, without many friends. They commonly have no prior run-ins with the law. Sometimes the killing is triggered by a desire to protect the other parent or siblings.
The most common form of child sexual abuse is incest
Data gathered by the World Health Organization estimates that up to 36% of girls and 29% of boys have suffered child sexual abuse.
In India, figures indicate that at least 25% of the adult population has been molested by the age of 16. More than 27 million females are survivors of child sexual abuse, the most common form of which is incest.
Findings of Delhi-based NGO RAHI suggest that 76% of upper and middle class Indian women respondents had suffered sexual abuse as children. Of those, 40% were abused by at least one family member.
A 1996 survey conducted in Bangalore by NGO Samvada found that in cases of child sexual abuse 75% of abusers were family members. 50% of the incidents were reported to have taken place in the child’s own home.
Childlessness is stigmatized
Estimates indicate that infertility affects between 80 million and 168 million people worldwide; that number equates to approximately 1 in every 10 couples of reproductive age.
A survey by Schering-Plough revealed that 61% percent of infertility patients hide the struggle to get pregnant from those around them.
71% of women in a 2009 study conducted by GfK Roper said that infertility makes them feel flawed.
Additional Resources
Domestic Violence
Unite To End Violence Against Women
The Body Shop x UNICEF – Stop Violence in the Home
Incest
RAHI Rape and Healing from Incest. Delhi, India
Bitter Chocolate: Child Sexual Abuse in India by Pinki Virani
Child Sexual Abuse in India, Human Rights Watch
Tulir: Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
Parricide
Understanding Parricide: When Sons and Daughters Kill Parents
by Kathleen M. Heide, Ph.D.
When Battered Women Kill
by Angela Browne, Ph.D.
Infertility
World Health Organization: Sexual and Reproductive Health
Resolve: The National Fertility Association
Breaking the Silence on Infertility by Jennifer Wolff Perrine
Recovery From Traumatic Loss: A Study Of Women Living Without Children After Infertility by Marni Rosner