Domestic violence is believed to be the most common yet least reported crime in the country.
The majority of battered women have children who also are hurt both physically and emotionally by the violence in their homes. More than half of the children whose mothers are battered are likely to be physically abused themselves. Research indicated that woman abuse in a family may be the single most important risk factor for child maltreatment. When mothers are battered, the father is about three times more likely to be the children's abuser than in families where woman battering does not occur. Older children may be harmed while trying to protect their mothers.