On the community level, you may or may not find local data readily available. Use the state and national data to state your case, and where you can, use the following methods to estimate local data: (This material is excerpted from the Transforming Communities Technical Assistance, Training and Resource Center  Organizing Kit, available at: www.transformcommunities.org.)

Use of Facts

Facts are best when they describe the extent of the problem locally. It’s important to have the date and a credible source to be effective. Use your facts selectively. Do not overwhelm your audience with numbers.

Social Math

Social math is a technique that relates data to people in a way that makes a lasting impression. Numbers are one way to substantiate claims about the importance or magnitude of a problem. The larger the number of people affected, the more likely a problem will be noticed. Big numbers are only effective if they can be made meaningful to the community. Often people are overwhelmed by numbers. To make facts more accessible, try making the numbers smaller and more familiar by relating them to something else. For example, there are three times as many animal shelters as there are shelters for battered women in the U.S. or, a man physically abuses a woman every nine seconds in this country.

How to Find the Facts

The following are some tips on how to find the facts about domestic violence in your community.

• Police Departments
  Police departments are a source of information for statistics such as the number of 911 emergency calls that involved domestic violence.

• Courts
  Obtain information such as the number of restraining orders and orders of protections.

• District Attorney’s Office
  Obtain statistics such as the number of convictions for domestic violence incidents and sexual assault cases.

• Public Health Department
  The number of emergency room visits related to domestic violence in your community can be obtained from the city and county public health departments.

• Public Library or County Records Department
  In order to obtain census records for your community as a context for the incidents of domestic violence, check the public library or county records department for the number of residents, age, gender, income, and other demographic data.

 

Fact Finding Tips

• Larger government offices may have independent domestic violence units. If so, go there first.

• If not, search for Statistics, Research, or Public Information departments.

• Requests for information should be in writing. Make sure to include contact information for your organization in your letter. (See sample letter below).

• You may encounter resistance when making requests for information. If the district attorney in your community has a poor conviction rate for perpetrators of domestic violence, the office may not be forthcoming with information. Therefore, it is important to be equipped with information about your rights. The California Public Records Act (Government Code 6256) requires that government agencies respond to your request for information within 10 days. This is similar to the federal Freedom of Information Act. If you are encountering resistance, or foresee that you will encounter resistance, include a reference to the California Public Records Act in your letter and include a copy of the code.

 

The Internet

There is a wealth of information about domestic violence on the Internet. For example, doing a net search with the keywords “domestic violence” will bring up approximately 150 websites. The Internet is a particularly good source for national statistics. While you probably won’t find local facts on the Internet, you will be able to find statistics that are relevant to your state, as well as a multitude of resources such as studies, reports, and information about other domestic violence organizations and training programs. It is important to acknowledge that not all material on the Internet is valid or reliable.  Check out the websites listed in Appendix E: Annotated List of Resources.

Keep in mind that many websites have extensive links to other relevant sites. For example, if you visit the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s website, you can, with a click of a button, access a great deal of other sources of information.