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CHRISTOPHER WREN OBSERVED THAT, "Politicians are said to use statistics the way drunks use lampposts: for support rather than illumination." Recognizing this, "advocacy statistics" have been a staple of groups vying for government attention -and resources -for as long as government has provided such resources. "Advocacy statistics" consist of spurious "data" that support preconceived ideas rather than offering empirical evidence of the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of those ideas. This article will explore domestic violence advocacy statistics in a framework that this author has developed and defined as "sanctified snake oil." "Snake oil" refers to any purported solution to a social problem which is unscientific, has not been adequately tested, is incompletely or inadequately defined, is used inappropriately, or stands in the way of a superior alternative. Snake oil becomes "sanctified" when it is funded, mandated, or otherwise endorsed or accepted by a government entity. This suggests that it is effective, even though government requires no proof of effectiveness when it funds or mandates services; nor does it require proof of effectiveness of the orientations or methods of expert witnesses used to determine the guilt of criminal defendants, the removal of children from their parents, and a host of other critical decisions that profoundly affect people's lives and are core roles of social work practitioners. It is facilitated

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