OSLO, Norway – Domestic violence, mainly against women and children,
kills far more people than wars and is an often overlooked scourge that costs
the world economy more than US$8 trillion a year, experts said on Tuesday.
The study, which its authors said was a first attempt to
estimate global costs of violence, urged the United Nations to pay more
attention to abuse at home that gets less attention than armed conflicts from
Syria to Ukraine.
“For every civil war battlefield death, roughly nine people
… are killed in inter-personal disputes,” Anke Hoeffler of Oxford University
and James Fearon of Stanford University wrote in the report.
From domestic disputes to wars, they estimated that all violence worldwide cost $9.5 trillion a year, mainly in lost economic output and equivalent to 11.2 percent of world gross domestic product.
In USA alone, since 1968, at least 1.4 million Americans have been killed by
guns—more than all the U.S.’s accumulated war dead in that same period.
Any way you look at it, 2013 was another killer year for arms
manufacturers and armed bullies.
“For every civil war battlefield death, roughly nine people
… are killed in inter-personal disputes,” Anke Hoeffler of Oxford University
and James Fearon of Stanford University wrote in the report. From domestic disputes to wars, they estimated that all violence worldwide cost $9.5 trillion a year, mainly in lost economic output and equivalent to 11.2 percent of world gross domestic product.
In USA alone, since 1968, at least 1.4 million Americans have been killed by
guns—more than all the U.S.’s accumulated war dead in that same period.
Any way you look at it, 2013 was another killer year for arms
manufacturers and armed bullies.
For non-fatal violence against women and children, the
report based itself on U.S. studies estimating that violent assaults each 
cost
about $95,000, from medical costs to losses of income.
In recent years, about 20-25 nations suffered civil wars, devastating many local economies and costing about $170 billion a year. Homicides, mainly of men unrelated to domestic disputes, cost $650 billion.
But those figures were dwarfed by the $8 trillion annual cost of domestic violence, mostly against women and children.
The study said about 290 million children suffer violent discipline at home, according to estimates based on data from the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
Based on estimated costs, ranging from injuries to
child welfare services, the study estimated that non-fatal child abuse sapped
1.9 percent of GDP in high income nations and up to 19 percent of GDP in
sub-Saharan Africa where severe discipline was common.
For non-fatal violence against women and children, the report based itself on U.S. studies estimating that violent assaults each cost about $95,000, from medical costs to losses of income.
The Center draws on work by more than 50 economists, including three Nobel Prize winners, and looks at cost-effective ways to
cost
about $95,000, from medical costs to losses of income. In recent years, about 20-25 nations suffered civil wars, devastating many local economies and costing about $170 billion a year. Homicides, mainly of men unrelated to domestic disputes, cost $650 billion.
But those figures were dwarfed by the $8 trillion annual cost of domestic violence, mostly against women and children.
The study said about 290 million children suffer violent discipline at home, according to estimates based on data from the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
Based on estimated costs, ranging from injuries to
child welfare services, the study estimated that non-fatal child abuse sapped
1.9 percent of GDP in high income nations and up to 19 percent of GDP in
sub-Saharan Africa where severe discipline was common. For non-fatal violence against women and children, the report based itself on U.S. studies estimating that violent assaults each cost about $95,000, from medical costs to losses of income.
The Center draws on work by more than 50 economists, including three Nobel Prize winners, and looks at cost-effective ways to
fight everything from climate change to
malaria.
Source: Reuters.
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