percent involving white offenders and black victims, and about 3 percent involving white victims and offenders of other races. In all age groups, black adult males "are significantly more likely to be victims of violent crimes" than white adult men or females of either race. Tragically, among youths aged 14-17, black males are victims of violent crime at the rate of 65.9 per 100,000--compared to only 8.5 per 100,000 white males (U.S. News, 1994, p. 30).
Although the rate of violence involving members of the same household has declined since 1970, it has held fairly constant over the past two decades. But the difference between urban and suburban rates is dramatic: 43.2 incidents per 1,000 urban households in 1992, compared to 28.2 incidents per 1,000 suburban households (U.S. News, 1994, p. 30). In sheer numbers, the effect is staggering: at least 800,000 violent crimes are committed in our homes each year. Unfortunately, only the most sensational cases ever come to the attention of the public. The Bobbitt incident in Virginia, in which John Bob
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