Domestic Violence Statistics

Domestic violence statistics in the U.S reveal alarming trends, with millions of individuals affected annually, highlighting the urgent need for prevention, support services, and policy reform.

What Is Domestic / Intimate Partner Violence

Domestic (intimate partner) violence includes physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. It can occur in heterosexual or same-sex relationships. It can also include coercive control, economic abuse, etc.

Statistics

Prevalence

• Lifetime exposure
  • About 41% of women in the U.S. report having experienced some form of intimate partner violence (IPV) — this includes contact sexual violence, physical violence, and stalking.
  • For men, the figure is lower: about 26% have experienced IPV in their lifetime.
• Severe violence/impact
  • Nearly 3 in 10 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by a partner, and report that the violence had a related impact (injury, fear, needing services, loss of work or school days).
  • Roughly 1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) aged 18 or older have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner during their lifetimes.
• Psychological aggression / non‐physical abuse
  • Psychological aggression is extremely common. Nearly half of both women and men report experiencing it.

Injuries, Deaths & Lethality

• Fatalities via intimate partner homicides
  • Firearms are heavily involved: more than two‐thirds of intimate partner homicides are committed with a gun.
  • Women are disproportionately the victims in such cases; men are less likely to be killed by intimate partners.
  • Example: In 2022, there were 782 intimate partner firearm homicides.
• Proportion of homicides
  • Intimate partner homicides make up a nontrivial portion of all homicides. One source estimates that about 20% of all homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner.
  • Also, over half of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former intimate partner.

Economic & Social Costs

• The lifetime economic burden of IPV is enormous. One study (2017 data) estimated about US$3.6 trillion in total costs (medical, mental health, lost work/productivity, criminal justice, etc.).
• Victims lose many workdays: e.g. severe IPV leads to victims losing millions of paid work days per year.

Trends & Other Observations

• During the COVID‐19 pandemic, reports suggest that when people were staying home more (lockdowns, etc.), domestic violence rose (police dispatch data, etc.). For instance, one study across 36 U.S. jurisdictions found reported IPV incidents increased by over 5% from March to May 2020 compared to what might be expected otherwise.
• Certain states show much higher lifetime prevalence than others. For example, some of the highest rates among women were in states like Oklahoma, Kentucky, Nevada, and Alaska.

Why These Are Likely Underestimates

• Many victims never report abuse—to law enforcement, to health providers, or in surveys—due to stigma, lack of trust, fear of retaliation, etc.
• Psychological or emotional abuse and coercive control often aren’t captured well by legal definitions or in surveys.
• Some data lags considerably behind real time; “recent” surveys may still be several years old.

What Do These Numbers Mean in Human Terms

• IPV is not a rare event. Tens of millions of people (women and men) in the U.S. will or have already experienced abuse.
• The presence of firearms greatly increases the risk of lethal outcomes.
• The effects are not only physical: they often involve psychological trauma, chronic health problems, loss of income or jobs, social isolation, etc.

Implications for Prevention & Policy

• Strengthening laws and enforcement around guns in domestic violence situations. (Restraining orders, safe storage, removal of firearms from abusers, etc.)
• Improving support services: shelters, counselling, legal help, hotlines, etc., especially in underserved areas.
• Targeted outreach to high‐risk demographics (young women, people in certain states), and to groups that face additional barriers (e.g. LGBTQ+ persons, racial minorities).
• Early intervention & education: teaching healthy relationships, recognizing signs of abuse, destigmatizing help‐seeking.
• Better data collection to understand non‐physical forms of abuse, under‐reporting, and to keep up with more current trends.