Two of the most serious safety issues for adults surveyed in the 2019 Community Health Survey were domestic violence (40%) and child abuse (39%).

 

The total number of calls for domestic violence reported in the 2019 Community Health Status Assessment indicated a decrease from 544 calls in 2016 to 468 in 2017. However, the rate of violent crime offenses in Mendocino County – which includes domestic violence, sexual assault and abuse, assault and battery – indicate 640 violent crime incidences in 2017, compared to 421 for the state.24
The rate of substantiated allegations of child maltreatment per 1,000 children ages 0-17 years rose from 17 per 1,000 in 2013 to 19 per 1,000 in 2017 (compared to 7.5 per 1,000 for California). In addition, the rate of children aged 0-17 with entries to foster care per 1,000 rose from 8.4 per 1,000 in 2013, to 12.3 per 1,000 in 2015, compared to 5.8 per 1,000 children for the state.

Domestic violence may include physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, spiritual, and/or financial abuse. Numerous studies show that domestic violence and child abuse affect the mental health and cognitive development of children. As discussed in the 2019 Community Health Status Assessment, “Children exposed to domestic violence can experience physical, emotional and behavioral responses which include feeling afraid, guilty and sad, having sleep disturbances, stomach aches and headaches, bedwetting, and inability to concentrate, among other problems.”  These negative consequences last through their adult lives. Studies show that there is a correlation between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) (including all types of domestic violence) and the increased incidence of heart disease, lung cancer, and diabetes, as well as depression and suicide amongst individuals who were exposed to domestic violence and abuse as children.

Domestic violence also impacts the sexual and reproductive health of women; sixteen percent (16%) of women who are abused are likely to have a low-birth weight baby, are 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV, and 1.5 times more likely to acquire syphilis infection, chlamydia and gonorrhea.

The impact of domestic violence goes beyond the family and includes friends, neighbors and the community at large.