Domestic Violence Awareness Month provides an opportunity for all of us to gain a better understanding of domestic violence and its prevalence, so we can better respond to and prevent it. The extent of domestic violence in Maine probably won’t surprise many — as we often read in this paper about domestic violence arrests and, sadly, deaths all too often.

But you still may be surprised that:
Every nine seconds a woman in America is battered by her intimate partner.
One in three Native American women will be raped in their lifetime and one in four will be battered by their intimate partner.
Native Americans are victims of all forms of violence, including domestic violence, at a rate higher than any other racial group.
Most perpetrators of domestic violence on Native women are non-Native men.