1. Domestic Violence. I grew up in an abusive household. My step father was physically and emotionally abusive (never sexual abuse, thank God). It killed my esteem, skewed my outlook on men and relationships, had me terrified for my mother's life more than once. Some stats on domestic violence (taken from http://domesticviolencestatistics.org/):
- Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.
- Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family.
- Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
- Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.
- Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.
- Everyday in the US, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.
- Ninety-two percent of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.
- 3.4 million people over the age of 18 are stalked each year in
the United States. - 3 in 4 stalking victims are stalked by someone they know.
- 30% of stalking victims are stalked by a current or former
intimate partner. - 10% of stalking victims are stalked by a stranger.
- Persons aged 18-24 years experience the highest rate of
stalking. - 11% of stalking victims have been stalked for 5 years or more.
- 46% of stalking victims experience at least one unwanted
contact per week - 1 in 4 victims report being stalked through the use of some
form of technology (such as e-mail or instant messaging). - 10% of victims report being monitored with global positioning
systems (GPS), and 8% report being monitored through video
or digital cameras, or listening devices.
- Every 30 minutes, a child is born who will develop a mitochondrial disease by age 10.
- Each year, 1,000 to 4,000 children in the United states are born with a mitochondrial disease.
- In adults, many diseases of aging have been found to have defects of mitochondrial function.
- These include, but are not limited to, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, atherosclerotic heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer. In addition, many medicines can injure the mitochondria.
- Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.
- The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period.
- In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.1,2
- Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors.3 Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.4
- Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.5,6
- Nearly 800,000 children younger than 18 are missing each year, or an average of 2,185 children reported missing each day.
- More than 200,000 children were were abducted by family members.
- More than 58,000 children were abducted by nonfamily members.
- 115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping. These crimes involve someone the child does not know or a slight acquaintance who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.
So, link up if you'd like. I'd love to see where your passions lie.
