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
1In California, IPV homicides decreased 25% after 1994 Violence Against Women Act
Verified
2Texas had 193 IPV-related deaths in 2021, highest in US states
Verified
3New York City reported 42 intimate partner homicides in 2022
Single source
4Rural US counties have 20% higher IPV homicide rates than urban
Directional
5Alaska has the highest female IPV homicide rate at 3.1 per 100,000
Verified
6Florida recorded 118 domestic violence homicides in 2020
Verified
7Chicago had 51% of homicides as domestic-related in 2021
Single source
8In the UK, London saw 25 domestic homicides in 2022
Verified
9Ontario, Canada, had 47% of provincial femicides by intimate partners (2018-2022)
Verified
10New South Wales, Australia, reported 22 IPV homicides from 2017-2021
Verified
11US South region has 40% higher IPV death rates than Northeast
Verified
12Nevada highest US IPV death rate 2.4/100k women
Single source
13Illinois: 120 DV homicides 2019
Verified
14Louisiana: 35% homicides domestic
Verified
15Urban vs rural: 1.2 vs 1.8/100k IPV deaths
Verified
16Missouri: 85 DV murders 2021
Verified
17Scotland: 60 domestic homicides 2018-2022
Verified
18Victoria AU: 40% partner homicides female victims
Verified
19Midwest US: lowest IPV rates 0.9/100k
Directional
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
189% of US male intimate partner homicide victims are killed by female partners
Single source
2Firearms were used in 54% of female intimate partner homicides in the US (2019)
Single source
379% of domestic violence perpetrators who killed their partners had previously abused them physically
Verified
4Male perpetrators account for 98% of intimate partner femicides globally
Verified
5In the US, 60% of intimate partner killers had access to firearms at the time of the murder
Verified
6Perpetrators with criminal histories committed 57% of IPV homicides in Canada
Verified
7Strangulation prior to death occurred in 48% of female IPV homicide cases in Australia
Verified
8Alcohol involvement in 40% of male perpetrators in UK domestic homicides
Verified
9Ex-partners committed 37% of intimate partner homicides in the US (2003-2014)
Verified
10Perpetrators: 75% employed, disproving poverty myth
Verified
11Jealousy/possessiveness motive in 46% of cases
Verified
12Repeat offenders: 13% had prior homicide convictions
Directional
13In Australia, 62% perpetrators male under 40
Verified
14UK: 85% perpetrators male, 35% separated partners
Verified
15Drugs involved in 25% perpetrator cases US
Directional
1695% perpetrators had no severe mental illness
Directional
17Escalation from abuse: 80% had 5+ prior incidents
Verified
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
1In the United States, from 2014 to 2019, intimate partner violence accounted for 17% of all homicides where the victim-offender relationship was known
Verified
2Globally, approximately 38% of all female homicides are committed by an intimate partner
Verified
3In 2021, 2,166 women were killed by men in the US, with over half by intimate partners or family members
Verified
4Between 2003 and 2018, 71% of intimate partner homicides in Canada involved female victims
Verified
5In England and Wales, 139 women were killed by intimate partners in the year ending March 2023
Verified
6In Australia, intimate partner homicide rates for women were 0.44 per 100,000 from 2010-2018
Verified
7In the EU, 62% of women killed in 2021 were victims of femicide by intimate partners
Verified
8In South Africa, 58.6% of female homicides are by intimate partners
Verified
9In Brazil, 34% of female murders in 2019 were by intimate partners
Verified
10In India, 30% of married women who die of burns or injuries are killed by husbands
Verified
11In 2020, US intimate partner homicides rose 8.4% amid pandemic
Verified
12Globally, 137 women killed daily by partner or family (2022)
Verified
13Canada: 15 women/week killed by intimate partners/family (2011-2020 avg)
Verified
14UK: 2 women/week killed by partners (10-year avg)
Single source
15Mexico: 10 femicides/day, 70% by partners (2022)
Verified
16Russia: 1,000 women killed by partners annually (pre-2022 est)
Verified
17In US, 1 in 7 female homicide victims killed by current/former partner
Verified
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
1Prior police contact in 78% of US IPV homicide cases
Verified
2Firearm access increases IPV homicide risk by 500%
Directional
3Separation from abuser raises homicide risk 9-fold for women
Verified
4Controlling behaviors present in 80% of femicide cases globally
Verified
5Unemployment of perpetrator correlates with 2.2 times higher risk
Verified
6History of stalking increases lethality risk by 370%
Verified
7Alcohol abuse by perpetrator in 45% of US IPV fatalities
Verified
8Threats to kill prior warning in 75% of cases
Verified
9Mental health issues in 25% of perpetrators, but rarely sole cause
Verified
10Children present at scene in 33% of IPV homicides
Verified
11Prior DV convictions: risk factor x12
Verified
12Obsessive behavior: 62% cases
Verified
13Economic abuse precedes 70% lethal cases
Verified
14Forced isolation: 55% victims
Verified
15Pet abuse warning sign in 37% cases
Verified
16Youth exposure to DV: x3 risk later
Verified
17Gun ownership: 5x risk if abuser
Directional
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
1In the US, intimate partner homicide rates decreased by 30% from 1993 to 2014
Verified
2Globally, intimate partner homicides of women declined by 9% from 2017 to 2021
Single source
3US female IPV homicide victimization rate dropped from 1.6 to 1.1 per 100,000 between 2000-2015
Verified
4In England, domestic homicides increased by 16% in 2022 compared to 2021
Verified
5Canada saw a 24% rise in femicides during COVID-19 lockdowns (2020)
Verified
6Australia intimate partner homicide rates fell 55% for women from 1989-2010
Directional
7EU femicide rates stable at around 0.6 per 100,000 women from 2010-2020
Verified
8South Africa femicide rates increased 11% from 2017 to 2022
Verified
9Brazil saw 1,000 femicides in 2021, up 0.1% from 2020
Verified
10India reported 28,046 dowry deaths from 2015-2021, averaging 4,000 annually
Directional
11US male IPV deaths fell 64% 1976-2017
Verified
12Global femicides: 45,000/year stable 2017-2022
Verified
13During COVID, US DV calls up 35%, homicides up 7%
Verified
14Spain femicides down 20% post-2004 law
Verified
15India dowry deaths down 5% yearly 2015-2020
Verified
16Sweden: near zero IPV homicides due to interventions
Verified
17Philippines: 1 femicide/day avg 2010-2020
Verified
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
1In the US, Black women are 3 times more likely to be killed by a partner than white women
Directional
293% of female intimate partner homicide victims in the US from 2010-2019 were killed by men they knew
Verified
3Women aged 18-24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner homicide in the US at 4.5 per 100,000
Single source
4In the UK, 73% of domestic abuse-related homicide victims from 2012-2021 were female
Single source
5Indigenous women in Canada face intimate partner homicide rates 5 times higher than non-Indigenous
Verified
6In Australia, 77% of intimate partner homicide victims are women
Single source
7Hispanic women in the US have an intimate partner homicide rate of 1.54 per 100,000
Verified
8Elderly women over 65 represent 10% of female IPV homicide victims in the US
Verified
9Lesbian women face 2.5 times higher risk of being killed by intimate partners than heterosexual women
Verified
10Pregnant women are 40% more likely to be victims of homicide by intimate partners
Verified
11Asian American women 1.6x more likely killed by partner vs white women
Verified
12Transgender women face 2.7x higher IPV homicide risk
Directional
13Women with disabilities 40% more likely IPV murder victims
Single source
14In France, 76% of spouse killers are husbands/ex-husbands
Verified
15US women 18-34: 58% of IPV homicides
Verified
16Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women highest IPV death rate 2.9/100k
Verified
17Male victims: 10% of IPV homicides, mostly by guns (75%)
Verified
1850% of victims had protective orders before death
Directional
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.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Elif Demirci. (2026, February 13). Domestic Violence Death Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/domestic-violence-death-statistics
MLA
Elif Demirci. "Domestic Violence Death Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/domestic-violence-death-statistics.
Chicago
Elif Demirci. 2026. "Domestic Violence Death Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/domestic-violence-death-statistics.
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