News

Children With Mother and Boyfriend are 33 Times More Likely to be Abused

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Marriage is the only institution that protects mothers and children from domestic abuse, according to a new study from the Heritage Foundation.

The report reveals:  – Domestic abuse is twice as high among women who have never married than among those who have.  – Children of divorced or never-married mothers are six to 30 times more likely to suffer from serious abuse than children raised by both biological parents who are married.  – Never-married women experience more domestic abuse than those who are married.  – Children who live with their mother and a boyfriend who is not their father are 33 times more likely to be abused.  – The rate of abuse is six times higher in stepfamilies, 14 times higher in the single-mother family and 20 times higher in cohabiting biological-parent families.

See the full study by Patrick F. Fagan and Kirk A. Johnson, “Marriage: The Safest Place for Women and Children,” Backgrounder No. 1535, April 10, 2002, Heritage Foundation.  https://www.heritage.org/library/backgrounder/bg1535.html

See the Washington Times coverage:  https://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020415-17907745.htm