Test Your Knowledge About Domestic Violence
- The Friendship Center
- Jun 27
- 6 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
Intimate partner violence (aka domestic violence) is a serious crime with far-reaching impacts. Take the quiz to test your knowledge.
Come up with your best guesses for each quiz question then click the dropdowns to check your answer and learn some facts about IPV in our community and beyond.
You can also download a PDF version of the quiz if you want to share it with a group for a learning activity.
About what percentage of the population has experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime?
a) 19%
b) 29%
c) 39%
Check your answer!
b) 29%
Data indicates that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced either physical violence, rape, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Prevalence is even higher for marginalized groups like the trans and nonbinary community, more than half of whom will experience some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime.
For Lewis and Clark County's population of 75,000, we can expect over 21,800 residents to be survivors of intimate partner violence.
Of the 700+ clients The Friendship Center serves each year, what percentage identify domestic violence as their primary reason for seeking services?
a) Less than 50%
b) About 65%
c) Over 70%
Check your answer!
c) Over 70%
Of the 729 known individuals The Friendship Center served in 2024, 524 identified domestic violence as their primary victimization (over 71% of individuals we served).
Within our tri-county service region's population of 95,000, about 27,500 individuals would likely qualify for The Friendship Center's services based on their experience with domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking (DVSAS) at some point in their lives.
Which of these factors significantly increases the risk of intimate partner homicide or familicide when domestic violence is present?
a) Strangulation
b) Stalking
c) Access to firearms
d) All of the above
Check your answer!
d) All of the above
Lots of research has been done on factors that were present in domestic violence fatalities, where a victim was murdered by a current or former intimate partner.
There are many assessment tools that can help survivors and those who interact with them understand the danger of their situation and make safety decisions based on their risk of lethality.
The following list of factors is by no means exhaustive, but every one of them correlates to a question from the risk assessment tool used in our community.
Law enforcement in our community is trained to ask victims questions about the factors listed below every time they respond to a domestic violence call (known in Montana as a partner or family member assault, or PFMA).
LETHALITY FACTORS
Increased severity or frequency of violence
Extreme jealousy
Physical harm to a pregnant partner
Use of a weapon to hurt or threaten
Attempted homicide
Threats of suicide or homicide
Strangulation
Control of daily activities
Access to firearms
History of forced sex within relationship
Use of illegal drugs/misuse of prescription drugs
Harm or abuse to partner's loved ones and/or pets
Recent separation (relationship ended within past 12-18 months)
Significant financial loss or unemployment
Stalking
What percentage of domestic violence cases include financial abuse?
a) Less than 50%
b) About 75%
c) Over 95%
Check your answer!
c) Over 95%
Financial abuse is the single most pervasive form of domestic abuse, impacting 98-99% of domestic violence cases.
Manipulating or withholding money or needed economic resources from a partner can be a devastating piece of an overall pattern of coercive control. It's also the single most cited reason survivors stay in or return to abusive relationships.
How many survivors delay leaving an abusive relationship because they're afraid of being separated from their pets?
a) 1 in 5
b) 1 in 7
c) 1 in 10
Check your answer!
a) 1 in 5
Anywhere between 1 in 5 to over 3 in 5 domestic violence victims delay leaving a dangerous situation because they don’t know where to place or how to protect their pets.
Some survivors will even resort to living in their cars to avoid being separated from their pets—an option that comes with its own safety risks since homelessness greatly increases a person’s risk of violent victimization.
Earlier this year, The Friendship Center and Lewis & Clark Humane Society launched a new program that offers free safe housing for the pets of those who are escaping violence.
If you or somebody you know is experiencing domestic violence, and safe housing for a pet is a barrier to leaving a relationship or seeking resources like safe shelter, LCHS and TFC can help!
Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) has a significant economic impact. Can you guess the estimated economic burden of IPV in the United States?
a) $3.6 billion
b) $360 billion
c) $3.6 trillion
Check your answer!
c) $3.6 trillion
In 2014, the estimated lifetime cost of intimate partner violence was $103,767 per female victim and $23,414 per male victim.
That’s a population economic burden of nearly $3.6 trillion over victims’ lifetimes, based on 43 million U.S. adults with victimization history.
The estimated $3.6 trillion economic impact of intimate partner violence from 2014 breaks down as follows:
$2.1 trillion - Medical costs (59%)
$1.3 trillion - Missed work or classes (both victims and perpetrators) (37%)
$73 billion - Criminal justice activities (2%)
$62 billion - Other costs, including victim property loss or damage (2%)
Government sources pay an estimated $1.3 trillion (37%) of this lifetime economic burden. This speaks to the life- and cost-saving impact of providing education designed to prevent violence, holding offenders accountable, and getting survivors connected to services as early as possible to minimize the likelihood of severe injury or fatality.
When is the most dangerous time for a victim in an abusive relationship?
Check your answer!
When the relationship ends
Research indicates that about 75% of intimate partner homicides occur upon separation (within 12-18 months of a breakup), and as much as half occur within two months of a breakup.
Any threat to an established pattern of power and control can be intolerable for an abuser. Leaving can be a sign of defiance, and the onset of new extremes of violence against both survivors and their loved ones.
On average, how many times do survivors try to end an abusive relationship before they can leave it for good?
Check your answer!
7 times
Survivors don't have to know the data to be able to predict the deadly risk that can come with ending a relationship.
The decision to end any long-term intimate partner relationship is not easy. Access to finances, housing, children, and pets may all be at stake. There’s added danger in abusive relationships because some abusers are willing to harm or kill their partners if they feel they are losing control over them.
The Friendship Center’s services are available to any primary or secondary survivor of intimate partner violence, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. True or false?
Check your answer!
True
While about 90% of The Friendship Center's clients are women, anyone can be affected by violence.
We also know that while reporting rates for domestic and sexual violence are low across the board, male survivors and LGBTQ+ survivors of all genders are especially unlikely to report their victimization to law enforcement or seek services.
Stigma, fear of not being believed, fear of retaliation, and lack of awareness about services available are a few of many reasons survivors may not report abuse or seek help.
Everyone can play a part in supporting survivors. Start by believing people who disclose their experience of violence and abuse (false reports of domestic and sexual violence are the rare exception, not the norm). Listen to survivors and, if they're looking for support or information, advocates at The Friendship Center can help.
Anybody in Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, and Jefferson counties who has experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking in their lifetime is eligible for our free, confidential services.
If you or someone you know has been affected by intimate partner violence, our advocates are here to help. Check out our services page to learn about our free, confidential, 24/7 services. You can also visit our domestic violence resource page to learn more about the signs of IPV, links to more resources, and options for survivors.
コメント