Behind every staggering statistic lies a shattered life, a truth starkly illuminated by the relentless fact that in the United States, intimate partner violence accounts for 17% of all known relationship homicides, a devastating pattern of loss mirrored tragically around the globe.
Key Takeaways
- In the United States, from 2014 to 2019, intimate partner violence accounted for 17% of all homicides where the victim-offender relationship was known
- Globally, approximately 38% of all female homicides are committed by an intimate partner
- In 2021, 2,166 women were killed by men in the US, with over half by intimate partners or family members
- In the US, Black women are 3 times more likely to be killed by a partner than white women
- 93% of female intimate partner homicide victims in the US from 2010-2019 were killed by men they knew
- Women aged 18-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner homicide in the US at 4.5 per 100,000
- 89% of US male intimate partner homicide victims are killed by female partners
- Firearms were used in 54% of female intimate partner homicides in the US (2019)
- 79% of domestic violence perpetrators who killed their partners had previously abused them physically
- In the US, intimate partner homicide rates decreased by 30% from 1993 to 2014
- Globally, intimate partner homicides of women declined by 9% from 2017 to 2021
- US female IPV homicide victimization rate dropped from 1.6 to 1.1 per 100,000 between 2000-2015
- In California, IPV homicides decreased 25% after 1994 Violence Against Women Act
- Texas had 193 IPV-related deaths in 2021, highest in US states
- New York City reported 42 intimate partner homicides in 2022
Intimate partner violence is a leading global cause of women’s homicides.
Geographic Variations
- In California, IPV homicides decreased 25% after 1994 Violence Against Women Act
- Texas had 193 IPV-related deaths in 2021, highest in US states
- New York City reported 42 intimate partner homicides in 2022
- Rural US counties have 20% higher IPV homicide rates than urban
- Alaska has the highest female IPV homicide rate at 3.1 per 100,000
- Florida recorded 118 domestic violence homicides in 2020
- Chicago had 51% of homicides as domestic-related in 2021
- In the UK, London saw 25 domestic homicides in 2022
- Ontario, Canada, had 47% of provincial femicides by intimate partners (2018-2022)
- New South Wales, Australia, reported 22 IPV homicides from 2017-2021
- US South region has 40% higher IPV death rates than Northeast
- Nevada highest US IPV death rate 2.4/100k women
- Illinois: 120 DV homicides 2019
- Louisiana: 35% homicides domestic
- Urban vs rural: 1.2 vs 1.8/100k IPV deaths
- Missouri: 85 DV murders 2021
- Scotland: 60 domestic homicides 2018-2022
- Victoria AU: 40% partner homicides female victims
- Midwest US: lowest IPV rates 0.9/100k
Geographic Variations Interpretation
While progress like California’s 25% drop after the Violence Against Women Act shows policy saves lives, the persistently grim data—from Texas’s 193 deaths to Alaska’s 3.1 per 100,000 rate—reveals a brutal geography where your safety still depends too much on your zip code.
Perpetrator Profiles
- 89% of US male intimate partner homicide victims are killed by female partners
- Firearms were used in 54% of female intimate partner homicides in the US (2019)
- 79% of domestic violence perpetrators who killed their partners had previously abused them physically
- Male perpetrators account for 98% of intimate partner femicides globally
- In the US, 60% of intimate partner killers had access to firearms at the time of the murder
- Perpetrators with criminal histories committed 57% of IPV homicides in Canada
- Strangulation prior to death occurred in 48% of female IPV homicide cases in Australia
- Alcohol involvement in 40% of male perpetrators in UK domestic homicides
- Ex-partners committed 37% of intimate partner homicides in the US (2003-2014)
- Perpetrators: 75% employed, disproving poverty myth
- Jealousy/possessiveness motive in 46% of cases
- Repeat offenders: 13% had prior homicide convictions
- In Australia, 62% perpetrators male under 40
- UK: 85% perpetrators male, 35% separated partners
- Drugs involved in 25% perpetrator cases US
- 95% perpetrators had no severe mental illness
- Escalation from abuse: 80% had 5+ prior incidents
Perpetrator Profiles Interpretation
These statistics paint a grim and predictable portrait: the most common weapons in intimate partner homicide are not just firearms or hands, but a prior history of abuse, a lethal sense of ownership, and a society that too often fails to see the escalating danger until it is too late.
Prevalence Rates
- In the United States, from 2014 to 2019, intimate partner violence accounted for 17% of all homicides where the victim-offender relationship was known
- Globally, approximately 38% of all female homicides are committed by an intimate partner
- In 2021, 2,166 women were killed by men in the US, with over half by intimate partners or family members
- Between 2003 and 2018, 71% of intimate partner homicides in Canada involved female victims
- In England and Wales, 139 women were killed by intimate partners in the year ending March 2023
- In Australia, intimate partner homicide rates for women were 0.44 per 100,000 from 2010-2018
- In the EU, 62% of women killed in 2021 were victims of femicide by intimate partners
- In South Africa, 58.6% of female homicides are by intimate partners
- In Brazil, 34% of female murders in 2019 were by intimate partners
- In India, 30% of married women who die of burns or injuries are killed by husbands
- In 2020, US intimate partner homicides rose 8.4% amid pandemic
- Globally, 137 women killed daily by partner or family (2022)
- Canada: 15 women/week killed by intimate partners/family (2011-2020 avg)
- UK: 2 women/week killed by partners (10-year avg)
- Mexico: 10 femicides/day, 70% by partners (2022)
- Russia: 1,000 women killed by partners annually (pre-2022 est)
- In US, 1 in 7 female homicide victims killed by current/former partner
Prevalence Rates Interpretation
Behind the grim mathematics of domestic violence statistics lies the quiet, devastating arithmetic of everyday life: women across the globe are dying not at the hands of strangers, but by the very people who promised to love them.
Risk Factors and Causes
- Prior police contact in 78% of US IPV homicide cases
- Firearm access increases IPV homicide risk by 500%
- Separation from abuser raises homicide risk 9-fold for women
- Controlling behaviors present in 80% of femicide cases globally
- Unemployment of perpetrator correlates with 2.2 times higher risk
- History of stalking increases lethality risk by 370%
- Alcohol abuse by perpetrator in 45% of US IPV fatalities
- Threats to kill prior warning in 75% of cases
- Mental health issues in 25% of perpetrators, but rarely sole cause
- Children present at scene in 33% of IPV homicides
- Prior DV convictions: risk factor x12
- Obsessive behavior: 62% cases
- Economic abuse precedes 70% lethal cases
- Forced isolation: 55% victims
- Pet abuse warning sign in 37% cases
- Youth exposure to DV: x3 risk later
- Gun ownership: 5x risk if abuser
Risk Factors and Causes Interpretation
These statistics paint the grim portrait of a predictable, escalating crisis, where a lethal cocktail of control, access to weapons, and ignored warning signs—from stalking to threats to pet abuse—creates a clear and present danger that the system too often fails to intercept before it's too late.
Temporal Trends
- In the US, intimate partner homicide rates decreased by 30% from 1993 to 2014
- Globally, intimate partner homicides of women declined by 9% from 2017 to 2021
- US female IPV homicide victimization rate dropped from 1.6 to 1.1 per 100,000 between 2000-2015
- In England, domestic homicides increased by 16% in 2022 compared to 2021
- Canada saw a 24% rise in femicides during COVID-19 lockdowns (2020)
- Australia intimate partner homicide rates fell 55% for women from 1989-2010
- EU femicide rates stable at around 0.6 per 100,000 women from 2010-2020
- South Africa femicide rates increased 11% from 2017 to 2022
- Brazil saw 1,000 femicides in 2021, up 0.1% from 2020
- India reported 28,046 dowry deaths from 2015-2021, averaging 4,000 annually
- US male IPV deaths fell 64% 1976-2017
- Global femicides: 45,000/year stable 2017-2022
- During COVID, US DV calls up 35%, homicides up 7%
- Spain femicides down 20% post-2004 law
- India dowry deaths down 5% yearly 2015-2020
- Sweden: near zero IPV homicides due to interventions
- Philippines: 1 femicide/day avg 2010-2020
Temporal Trends Interpretation
The global battle against intimate partner homicide shows promising, hard-won progress in many nations, yet these victories remain heartbreakingly fragile, as sharp, recent reversals in several countries—and during crises like the pandemic—prove that complacency is a luxury we cannot afford.
Victim Profiles
- In the US, Black women are 3 times more likely to be killed by a partner than white women
- 93% of female intimate partner homicide victims in the US from 2010-2019 were killed by men they knew
- Women aged 18-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner homicide in the US at 4.5 per 100,000
- In the UK, 73% of domestic abuse-related homicide victims from 2012-2021 were female
- Indigenous women in Canada face intimate partner homicide rates 5 times higher than non-Indigenous
- In Australia, 77% of intimate partner homicide victims are women
- Hispanic women in the US have an intimate partner homicide rate of 1.54 per 100,000
- Elderly women over 65 represent 10% of female IPV homicide victims in the US
- Lesbian women face 2.5 times higher risk of being killed by intimate partners than heterosexual women
- Pregnant women are 40% more likely to be victims of homicide by intimate partners
- Asian American women 1.6x more likely killed by partner vs white women
- Transgender women face 2.7x higher IPV homicide risk
- Women with disabilities 40% more likely IPV murder victims
- In France, 76% of spouse killers are husbands/ex-husbands
- US women 18-34: 58% of IPV homicides
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women highest IPV death rate 2.9/100k
- Male victims: 10% of IPV homicides, mostly by guns (75%)
- 50% of victims had protective orders before death
Victim Profiles Interpretation
The grim portrait painted by these statistics is not one of random tragedy but of a predictable and pervasive pandemic, where the most common predator is a familiar man and the price of being a woman, especially a young, Black, Indigenous, transgender, or otherwise marginalized woman, is calculated in blood.
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