One third of women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. Seventy six percent of intimate partner violence victims did not contact police during the incident. Fifty one percent of teen dating violence victims did not seek help from formal support services.
Key Takeaways
- 1 in 3 women (35%) worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime
- 18% of women in the WHO Multi-country Study reported experiencing physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in the past 12 months
- 7.6% of men reported experiencing intimate partner violence (physical and/or sexual) in the past 12 months
- 76% of victims of intimate partner violence did not call the police during the incident
- 21% of women who were injured by an intimate partner received medical attention for their injuries
- 51% of teen dating violence victims did not seek help from formal support services
- $8.3 billion annual estimated cost of rape and sexual assault in the United States (2013 dollars)
- 14% of adult women who were injured by an intimate partner reported that the injury was severe
- 33% of women with intimate partner violence had injuries requiring medical treatment
- 1 in 10 adolescent girls report having experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner
- Substance misuse is present in about 37% of intimate partner violence incidents (systematic review estimate)
- Antisocial personality traits are associated with an increased likelihood of intimate partner violence (meta-analysis effect estimate)
- In the 2021 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 10% of U.S. high school students reported being electronically harassed/abused by a dating partner (e.g., threats, controlling messages)
- MPOWER (a bystander intervention program) showed a 70% increase in bystander intervention intentions immediately post-training in a controlled study
- A meta-analysis of dating violence prevention programs found an overall effect size of d = 0.19 on reducing dating violence outcomes
One in three women experience dating or intimate partner violence, yet most victims never report it.
Related reading
01 · Category
Prevalence & Incidence4 stats
01
1 in 3 women (35%) worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetimehttps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women
02
18% of women in the WHO Multi-country Study reported experiencing physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in the past 12 monthshttps://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241564625
03
7.6% of men reported experiencing intimate partner violence (physical and/or sexual) in the past 12 monthshttps://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241563512
04
30.8% of dating college women reported experiencing physical violence by a dating partnerhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4985647/
Interpretation
Prevalence & Incidence Interpretation
Across prevalence and incidence measures, violence remains alarmingly common, with 35% of women worldwide affected and 18% reporting intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence in the past 12 months, alongside higher short-term dating partner rates for college women at 30.8%.
02 · Category
Reporting & Response4 stats
01
76% of victims of intimate partner violence did not call the police during the incidenthttps://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249736.pdf
02
21% of women who were injured by an intimate partner received medical attention for their injurieshttps://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5308a1.htm
03
51% of teen dating violence victims did not seek help from formal support serviceshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477030/
04
64% of survivors of domestic/sexual violence reported barriers to reporting (e.g., fear of retaliation, not believing it will help)https://www.advocacynow.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/barriers_to_reporting_report.pdf
Interpretation
Reporting & Response Interpretation
In the reporting and response side of dating abuse, many victims never reach formal help, including 76% who did not call police, 51% who did not use formal support services, and 64% who faced barriers to reporting, which helps explain why the gap in assistance remains so large.
03 · Category
Economic & Health Costs8 stats
01
$8.3 billion annual estimated cost of rape and sexual assault in the United States (2013 dollars)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5786364/
02
14% of adult women who were injured by an intimate partner reported that the injury was severehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3666777/
03
33% of women with intimate partner violence had injuries requiring medical treatmenthttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5222795/
04
32% of teen dating violence victims reported missing school because of the violencehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4404004/
05
1 in 6 women (16.7%) with intimate partner violence symptoms reported PTSD in the past yearhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4123173/
06
Victims of intimate partner violence have 2–3 times higher odds of depression than those without such violencehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799561/
07
Intimate partner violence is associated with a 2-fold increase in risk of suicidal ideationhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6344061/
08
40% of domestic violence survivors report sleep problems linked to trauma symptomshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4508805/
Interpretation
Economic & Health Costs Interpretation
Economic and health costs of dating abuse are substantial, with billions spent on rape and sexual assault each year and high injury and mental health impacts such as 33% of women with intimate partner violence needing medical treatment and 16.7% reporting PTSD in the past year.
More related reading
04 · Category
Trends & Risk Factors7 stats
01
1 in 10 adolescent girls report having experienced physical or sexual violence from a partnerhttps://www.unfpa.org/publications/state-world-population-2019
02
Substance misuse is present in about 37% of intimate partner violence incidents (systematic review estimate)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213419305965
03
Antisocial personality traits are associated with an increased likelihood of intimate partner violence (meta-analysis effect estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5977788/
04
A 2020 meta-analysis found that childhood exposure to violence increases risk of intimate partner violence in adulthood (pooled OR reported as 2.0)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524838019872560
05
Teen dating violence peaks in mid-adolescence, with highest prevalence reported among 16–17-year-olds (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey)https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/ss/ss6901a1.htm
06
Among adolescents who experience dating violence, 1 in 4 reports using social media to monitor or control the partner (study finding)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8321571/
07
Risk increases when both partners have histories of prior dating violence victimization (couple-level risk estimate from longitudinal research: hazard ratios reported above 1)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003122420925505
Interpretation
Trends & Risk Factors Interpretation
Across trends and risk factors, the likelihood of dating abuse rises with clear early-life and behavioral patterns, including 1 in 10 adolescent girls reporting partner physical or sexual violence and teen dating violence peaking at ages 16 to 17, while nearly 37% of intimate partner violence incidents involve substance misuse and 1 in 4 teen victims say social media is used to monitor or control their partner.
05 · Category
Prevention & Programs7 stats
01
In the 2021 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 10% of U.S. high school students reported being electronically harassed/abused by a dating partner (e.g., threats, controlling messages)https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/ss/ss7101a1.htm
02
MPOWER (a bystander intervention program) showed a 70% increase in bystander intervention intentions immediately post-training in a controlled studyhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5024431/
03
A meta-analysis of dating violence prevention programs found an overall effect size of d = 0.19 on reducing dating violence outcomeshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6423631/
04
A systematic review reported that programs addressing healthy relationships reduced perpetration and victimization by an average of about 14% (range across studies)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7312977/
05
In a trial of Safe Dates (middle school dating violence prevention), participants showed a 59% reduction in self-reported physical dating violence perpetration at follow-uphttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1508915/
06
A 2019 randomized controlled trial found that a digital intervention reduced dating violence victimization scores by 16% relative to controlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6786780/
07
In the U.S., 83% of schools implement some form of dating violence education in health classes (percentage from national school climate survey study)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8104571/
Interpretation
Prevention & Programs Interpretation
Prevention and programs targeting healthy relationships and bystander action appear to make a measurable difference, with outcomes improving by about 16% to 59% in specific interventions and a meta-analysis showing an overall effect size of d = 0.19 on reducing dating violence.
report visual · Comparison
How common is dating/partner violence?
Multiple surveys show substantial proportions of dating and intimate partner violence among women, men, and dating college students within recent timeframes.
1 in 3 women (35%) worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sex35%
30.8% of dating college women reported experiencing physical violence by a dating partner
30.8%
18% of women in the WHO Multi-country Study reported experiencing physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in th
18%
7.6% of men reported experiencing intimate partner violence (physical and/or sexual) in the past 12 months
7.6%
source-verifiedwho.int · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Ryan Townsend. (2026, February 13). Dating Abuse Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/dating-abuse-statistics
MLA
Ryan Townsend. "Dating Abuse Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/dating-abuse-statistics.
Chicago
Ryan Townsend. 2026. "Dating Abuse Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/dating-abuse-statistics.
Sources & references
30 datasets cited across this report
+22 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)