The (Economic) Cost of Violence

Everything can be looked at in economic terms, including violence. It’s important info to have at your disposal, because it can strengthen a grant proposal or negotiations with your healthcare system for an FTE or program. Enough’s been written on the subject that I figured it would be good to review the literature. I’ve chosen to focus mainly on the costs of violence against women. [UPDATE: You can find financial cost of child abuse here.] Unless otherwise indicated, everything listed is full text (if it wasn’t available free online, you’ll have a link to free abstracts). I’m organizing these by pub date, with most recent at the beginning:

2012

Overview of Studies on the Costs of Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (PDF) (Council of Europe, Gender Equality and Violence Against Women Division, Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law)

An Estimation of the Economic Impact of Spousal Violence in Canada, 2009 (PDF) (Department of Justice Canada)

Cost of Injury Reports Application from the CDC has been updated. Using the WISQARS database, the applications allows you to “find cost of injury estimates for fatal or nonfatal injuries classified either by intent and mechanism or by body region and nature of injury”. From the site:

Important Updates: In addition to allowing user-provided data to be integrated into the cost estimation process, this new version of Cost of Injury Reports incorporates three basic changes, effective 04/25/2012:

Updated unit (per person) work loss cost estimates: These updated unit work loss cost estimates affect total and average work loss cost estimates for both fatal and nonfatal injuries. For further details regarding this update, click here.

Corrected unit medical cost estimates: These corrected unit medical cost estimates affect total and average medical cost estimates for nonfatal emergency department treated-and-released injuries. Cost estimates for fatal injuries and for nonfatal hospitalized injuries are not affected by this correction. For further details regarding this update, click here.

Average costs: For reports involving injury deaths classified by body region and/or nature of injury, average costs are now expressed per person (similar to the averages for all other types of injury outcomes and classification schemes). Such averages were previously expressed in terms of apportioned cases. For further details regarding this update, click here.

Violence Containment Spending in the United States (FULL TEXT)

Institute for Economics and Peace

The Economic Costs of Partner Violence and the Cost-Benefit of Civil Protection Orders.

Logan, T.K., Walker, R., and Hoyt, W. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2012 Apr;27(6): 1137-54

2011

Costs and Consequences of Sexual Violence and Cost-Effective Solutions

National Alliance to End Sexual Violence

Social and economic costs of violence–workshop summary

Deepali M. Patel and Rachel M. Taylor, Rapporteurs; Forum on Global Violence Prevention; Institute of Medicine

Attributing Selected Costs to Intimate Partner Violence in a Sample of Women Who Have Left Abusive Partners: A Social Determinants of Health Approach (PDF)

Varcoe, C., et al. (Canadian study)

2010

The healthcare costs of domestic and sexual violence (fact sheet).

Futures Without Violence, updated March 2010

Changes in health care costs over time following the cessation of intimate partner violence.

Fishman PA, Bonomi AE, Anderson ML, Reid RJ, Rivara FP.

J Gen Intern Med. 2010 Sep;25(9):920-5. Epub 2010 Apr 23.

A review of cost measures for the economic impact of domestic violence.

Chan KL, Cho EY.

Trauma Violence Abuse. 2010 Jul;11(3):129-43.

2009

Health care utilization and costs associated with physical

and nonphysical-only intimate partner violence.

Bonomi AE, Anderson ML, Rivara FP, Thompson RS.                             Health Serv Res. 2009 Jun;44(3):1052-67. Epub 2009 Mar 17.

Hidden Costs in Health Care: The Economic Impact of Violence and Abuse

Dolezal, T.et al. Academy on Violence & Abuse

Intimate Partner Violence: High Costs to Households and Communities

International Center for Research on Women

See also: Bonomi & Corso’s presentation at AVA, 2009

2008

Methods for estimating medical expenditures attributable to intimate partner violence.

Brown DS, et al.

J Interpers Violence. 2008 Dec;23(12):1747-66

2007

Cost of Sexual Violence in Minnesota

Minnesota Department of Health

The Effects and Costs of Intimate Partner Violence for Work Organizations

Reeves, C. & O’Leary-Kelly, A.M.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 22, No. 3, 327-344

The effect of intimate partner violence on health care costs and utilization for children living in the home. (FULL TEXT)

Rivara FP, Anderson ML, Fishman P, Bonomi AE et al.

Pediatrics 2007;120(6):1270-7.

Medical Costs and Productivity Losses Due to Interpersonal and Self-Directed Violence in the United States

Phaedra S. Corso, et al.

Am J Prev Med 2007;32(6)

2006

Making the Case for Domestic Violence Prevention Through the Lens of Cost-Benefit: A Manual for Domestic Violence Prevention Practitioners

Browne-Miller, A., Transforming Communities: Technical Assistance, Training and Resource Center (TC-TAT)

The welfare cost of violence across countries

Soares, R.R.

Journal of Health Economics, 25(5), September 2006, Pages 821-846

Long-term costs of intimate partner violence in a sample of female HMO enrollees.

Jones AS, et al.

Womens Health Issues. 2006 Sep-Oct;16(5):252-61.

2005

A Considerable Sacrifice: The Costs of Sexual Violence in the U. S. Armed Forces

Hansen, C. The Miles Foundation

The costs of interpersonal violence—an international review

Waters, H.R., et al.

Health Policy, 73(3) 8 September 2005, pp 303-315

Gender-Based Violence: A Price Too High

From: UNFPA State of World Population 2005

United Nations Population Fund

2004

The Economic Dimensions of Interpersonal Violence

Waters, H., et al., World Health Organization

The economic toll of intimate partner violence against women in the United States.

Max, W. et al.

Violence Vict. 2004 Jun;19(3):259-72.

2002

Economic Costs of Domestic Violence

Laing, L. & Bobic, N., Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse, University of New South Wales

The Rape Tax: Tangible and Intangible Costs of Sexual Violence

Post, L.A., et al.

Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 17, No. 7, 773-782 (2002)

1999

Intimate partner violence against women: do victims cost health plans more?

Wisner, C.L., et al.

J Fam Pract. 1999 Jun;48(6):439-43

Costs of health care use by women HMO members with a history of childhood abuse and neglect.

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999 Jul;56(7):609-13.

Walker EA, Unutzer J, Rutter C, Gelfand A, Saunders K,

VonKorff M, Koss MP, Katon W.

PUB DATE UNKNOWN

The Cost of Violence/Stress at Work and the Benefits of a Violence/Stress-Free Work Environment

Hoel, H., et al. International Labour Organization

BONUS TOOL (I can’t speak to validity or reliability, but it’s a cool concept)

Texas Health Resources DV Costs Calculator

See also: Financial Cost of Child Abuse