Here at May & McKinney, PLLC, we know that domestic violence remains a huge problem in Tennessee and across the nation. We also know, however, that a false accusation of domestic violence can turn your life upside down. That is why one of the major legal services we offer is that of defending against questionable and outright false domestic violence accusations.
All that being said, we thought it would be helpful, both to victims and accused perpetrators, to present the data compiled by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on the incidence of domestic violence in Tennessee during 2017, the latest year for which full data is available.
Unfortunately, 77,846 alleged domestic violence incidents occurred in Tennessee during 2017. It is important to note, however, that a full 59% of these incidents ultimately became clear, the vast majority of them because the alleged victim refused to cooperate in any type of follow-up investigation and refused to pursue prosecution of the alleged offender.
Demographic Break-Downs
Domestic violence is a crime often perceived of as one against women. The TBI data bears this out. Of the 77,846 reported domestic violence incidents reported in 2017, women victims accounted for a full 71.5% of them. In other words, if you are a Tennessee woman, your chances of becoming a domestic violence victim are three times that of a male.
Race, too, plays a significant role in domestic violence. In 2017, 31,402 white females reported being the victim, while 23,388 black African-American females reported their victimization.
Domestic Violence Offense Types in TN
In Tennessee, domestic violence is classified as a Crimes Against Persons offense, which contains 17 specific crimes. In order of their reported incidences, the following represent the top three reported offense types:
- Simple assault — 67%
- Aggravated assault — 14.8%
- Intimidation — 13.4%
Interpersonal relationships
Perhaps not surprisingly, the highest number of alleged domestic violence perpetrators in 2017 was the alleged victim’s boyfriend (35,773 reported incidents), followed by her current spouse (11,460 reported incidences) and former spouse (1,953 reported incidences). Other relationships included that of parent-child and stepparent-stepchild.
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