Study Estimates Domestic Violence in South Carolina Cost $358.4 Million in 2020

Press Release

A new study estimates that domestic violence in South Carolina cost $358.4 million in 2020. A press conference releasing findings from the study, conducted by Dr. Joseph C. Von Nessen of the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, will take place Tuesday, February 15th in the Rotunda of the Statehouse in Columbia.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four women and one in seven men will experience severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Findings from the study indicate that annually 82,379 South Carolinians will be victims of intimate partner violence. South Carolina ranks eleventh in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men, with a rate of 1.68 per 100,000, according to the most recent edition of the annual Violence Policy Center (VPC) study When Men Murder Women.

Speakers will include:

• Founders of the Jamie Kimble Foundation for Courage (JKFFC), Ron and Jan Kimble
• University of South Carolina (USC) Dr. Joseph Von Nessen
• South Carolina Lt. Governor Pamela S. Evette
• South Carolina House of Representatives, Gilda Cobb-Hunter (District 66), and Kambrell H. Garvin (District 77)
• South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson
• South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Executive Director Sara Barber
• Sistercare Executive Director Ann Kita
• JKFFC Executive Director Sherill Carrington

The report was conducted by Dr. Nessen, commissioned by the JKFFC and co-funded by Robert S. Handler Fund of the American Endowment Foundation, the Springsteen Foundation and Domtar Corporation.

“How many more South Carolinians need to suffer at the hands of an intimate partner for us to do more?” said Ron Kimble, whose daughter, Jamie, 31, was murdered by an ex-boyfriend in 2012. Kimble and his wife, Jan, established the Jamie Kimble Foundation for Courage to address domestic violence. “The prevention of the next victim is our foremost priority. The stunning cost of domestic violence to health care, law enforcement, courts, businesses and shelters should move us to realize it’s in our best interests to do more, especially with our youth, before the next victim cries out for help.”

The Foundation is calling on officials, employers, schools, and nonprofits to step up prevention, education, awareness, and research to identify trends, act, and measure efforts to curb domestic violence.

Ron and Jan Kimble hope these findings can help keep other families from having to experience heartbreak.

“The mission of the Jamie Kimble Foundation for Courage is to stop domestic violence and dating violence before it begins,” Jan Kimble said.  “By working with our youth and young adults while simultaneously assisting current victims, we can and will reduce the spread of this menace in our society.”

The digital SC Study is available on the Foundation’s website at www.jkffc.org.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us