Statistics

  • One in four women (25%) has experienced domestic violence in her lifetime.
  • (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The National Institute of Justice, Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence, July 2000. The Commonwealth Fund, Health Concerns Across a Woman's Lifespan: 1998 Survey of Women's Health, 1999)
  • Estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend to 3 million women who are physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year.
  • (U.S. Department of Justice, Violence by Intimates: Analysis of Data on Crimes by Current or Former Spouses, Boyfriends, and Girlfriends, March 1998. The Commonwealth Fund, Health Concerns Across a Woman's Lifespan: 1998 Survey of Women's Health, 1999)
  • Women accounted for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence, men for approximately 15%.
  • (Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003)
  • Between 600,000 and 6 million women are victims of domestic violence each year, and between 100,000 and 6 million men, depending on the type of survey used to obtain the data.
  • (Rennison, C. (2003, Feb). Intimate partner violence. Us. Dpt. of Justice/Office of Justice Programs. NXJ 197838. Straus, M. & Gelles, R. (1990). Physical violence in American families. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers. Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2000). Extent, nature, and consequences of intimate partner violence. National Institute of Justice, NCJ 181867.)
  • Women ages 20-24 are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.
  • (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. 1993-2004, 2006.)
  • Between 1993 and 2004, intimate partner violence on average made up 22% of nonfatal intimate partner victimizations against women. The same year, intimate partners committed 3% of all violent crime against men.
  • (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. 1993-2004, 2006.)
  • Separated and divorced males and females are at a greater risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence.
  • Women of all races are about equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner.
  • (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, August 1995)