The sensationally false claim that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women is entrenched in the criminal justice system. Variants of that claim have been quoted in judicial opinions from high courts. Variants of that claim have appeared as statements of fact in law-review articles, including ones that judges have authored. Variants of that claim are not just a characteristic of elite discourse on domestic violence. Variants of the claim that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women have appeared throughout the criminal justice system, including on web pages of police departments, prosecuting attorneys, district attorneys, and attorneys general.

The absurdly false claim that domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women typically occurs on criminal justice agencies’ web pages purporting to inform the public about domestic violence. Here are examples of that false claim from criminal justice agencies’ web pages early in 2006:

• FACT: …Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in our country, and the FBI estimates that a woman is beaten every 15 seconds. {Office of the District Attorney, 18^th Judicial District, Kansas, web page: “Myths and Facts About Domestic Violence”}
• Domestic violence is the single largest cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States, more than muggings, car accidents, and rapes combined. {St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Saint Augustine, Florida, web page: “Domestic Violence”}
• Domestic violence is the single largest cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States. Each year, between 2 to 4 million women are battered, and 2,000 of those die of their injuries. {Walnut Creek Policy Department, Contra Costa County, California, web page: “Domestic Violence”}
• Battering is the single largest cause of injury to women in the U.S. It exceeds rapes, muggings, and auto accidents combined. {Bonham Police Department, Fannin County, Texas, web page: “Crime Prevention / Family Violence”}
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. {Office of the Louisiana Attorney General, web page: “The Impact of Domestic Violence on the American Workplace is Significant}
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women in the United States. {Clark County Sheriff, Washington, web page: “Domestic Violence – Community Information”}
• {Domestic Violence} is the leading cause of injury and death to women between the ages of 15-44, exceeding car accidents, muggings and rapes. {Office of the District Attorney, Tulare County, California, web page: “Domestic Violence / Violence Against Women”}
• FACTS: …Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between ages 15 and 44 in the united States – more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. (Uniform Crime Reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1991) {San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, California, web page: “Domestic Violence Myths and Facts”}
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between ages 15 and 44 in the United States – more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. (Uniform Crime Reports, Federal Bureau of Investigation,1991) {Eaton County, Michigan, Prosecuting Attorney, web page of the “domestic violence specialist,” section entitled “Did you know…?”}
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States; more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. {Prosecuting Attorney, Clark County, Indiana, web page: “Domestic Violence: Fast Facts on Domestic Violence”}
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury for women age 15 to 44. More women are injured from domestic violence than {sic} rape, muggings and auto crashes combined. {Milwaukee County District Attorney, Wisconsin, web pdf document: “Domestic Violence”, section “Did You Know…?”}

The false claim about domestic violence has been used directly to prejudice jurors. About 2004, the Co-Director of the University of Texas School of Law Domestic Violence Clinic prepared teaching material entitled, “Voire Dire in Domestic Violence Cases.” That teaching material was adapted from materials by the City Attorney, San Diego, California and an Assistant Criminal District Attorney, Dallas, Texas. Among the questions for jurors being screened for hearing domestic violence cases:

With domestic violence as the number one cause of injury to women in this country, how many of you disagree with the state’s decision to press charges even if the victim does not want them to?^

According to the Internet Archive, that prejudicial teaching material on questioning jurors was being distributed on the National Center on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault’s website from at least 2007 to 2012.

The wildly false claim that domestic violence is the leading cause of injuries to women has proliferated within the criminal justice system. That communicative effect should be deeply troubling to persons concerned for public communication and justice. Persons criminally injuring those that they claim to love is a horrifying reality. Grotesque exaggeration of that horrifying reality indicates poorly functioning public reason and points to sex-biased administration of justice.