Cost of Domestic Violence
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The Tennessee Economic Council on Women has introduced
an innovative campaign to create a paradigm shift on the
way communities view domestic violence. The campaign involves
two strategies. The first strategy is to hold public hearings
on the economic impact of domestic violence in metropolitan
areas throughout the state. During the hearings, top officials
from Congress, the legislature, businesses, healthcare,
the legal system and social services testify to Council
members about the financial impact of domestic violence
on their organization’s bottom line. To date, hearings
have been held in Chattanooga (Nov. 02) and Memphis (May
03), with a third hearing scheduled in Nashville in December
2004.
The second strategy is to develop a quantifiable economic
model to measure the actual costs of domestic violence.
In partnership with a university, hard data will be collected
and analyzed in a delineated geographic area regarding the
targeted variables of health care and insurance, the courts,
business and related areas. The Council intends to use this
model as a national model for states to speed up legislation
and policy to eradicate domestic violence.
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