Behind the closed doors of American homes, a silent epidemic rages, with statistics revealing that nearly half of all women and men in the US have endured psychological aggression from an intimate partner, while one in four women and one in nine men experience physical violence, stalking, or sexual violence at the hands of a partner in their lifetime.
Key Takeaways
- According to the CDC, about 41% of women and 26% of men in the US have experienced some form of contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime
- The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) reports that 1 in 4 women (25.1%) and 1 in 9 men (10.4%) experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner
- In the US, 48.4% of women and 48.8% of men have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime, per NISVS 2016-2017 data
- Women aged 18-24 are 2.3 times more likely to experience IPV than older women, CDC NISVS
- Black women experience IPV at 1.5 times the rate of white women (43.7% vs 34.6% lifetime), CDC NISVS
- 55% of female murder victims are killed by intimate partners, DOJ data
- 85-90% of abusers are male, per law enforcement data, DOJ
- Male perpetrators commit 96% of reported intimate partner homicides, FBI data
- 30% of male perpetrators have prior criminal records for violence, BJS
- IPV victims miss 8 million workdays annually due to injuries, CDC
- DV causes $5.8 billion in direct medical costs yearly in US, CDC estimate
- 37% of female IPV victims require medical care, 28% miss work, NISVS
- Only 34 states mandate batterer intervention programs
- 50% of DV calls to police result in no arrest, DOJ data
- VAWA funded 1,000+ new victim services since 1994
Domestic violence is a widespread crisis affecting millions of lives across the United States.
Health and Economic Impacts
- IPV victims miss 8 million workdays annually due to injuries, CDC
- DV causes $5.8 billion in direct medical costs yearly in US, CDC estimate
- 37% of female IPV victims require medical care, 28% miss work, NISVS
- Victims lose $1.5-2 billion in productivity annually from DV
- 40-45% of women suffer injuries requiring medical attention from IPV
- DV-related depression affects 48% of victims, PTSD 45%, CDC
- Suicide attempt rate 2x higher among IPV victims
- Heart disease risk increases 70% for battered women, CDC study
- 17% of adult women and 4% men link alcohol problems to IPV trauma, NISVS
- Victims incur $103 million in annual housing costs due to fleeing DV
- 92% of victims report chronic health issues post-abuse
- DV leads to 2 million injuries annually, half to women, CDC
- Lifetime economic cost per victim averages $103,000-$3.6M, CDC
- 50-60% of victims develop anxiety disorders
- Unplanned pregnancies from DV coercion: 25% of cases
- DV victims 16% more likely to have stroke, health impact
- Children exposed to DV 3x more likely to face mental health issues
- Annual rape-related costs $127 billion, including IPV, CDC
- 30% of victims hospitalized yearly from injuries
- Economic abuse causes 98% of victims to lose jobs or income
- DV accounts for 15% of violent crime victimizations, BJS costs
- Mental health treatment for victims costs $7 billion yearly, estimate
- Arthritis risk doubles for female IPV survivors, CDC
- 67% of victims report sleep disorders from trauma
- Total societal cost of IPV $3.6 trillion over lifetimes, CDC
- Homelessness from DV affects 38% of homeless women, economic fallout
- Asthma exacerbations 50% higher in child witnesses
- Victims 1.5x more likely to smoke, health behavior change, CDC
- Legal fees for victims average $10,000+ per case
Health and Economic Impacts Interpretation
Behind every staggering statistic on domestic violence lies a human ledger of shattered productivity, soaring medical bills, and stolen futures, revealing a national crisis that bleeds not just bodies but bank accounts and souls.
Legal and Service Responses
- Only 34 states mandate batterer intervention programs
- 50% of DV calls to police result in no arrest, DOJ data
- VAWA funded 1,000+ new victim services since 1994
- Only 20% of victims report to police, underreporting, CDC NISVS
- 75% of shelters turn away victims due to lack of space, NCADV
- Restraining orders violated in 69% of cases within 2 years
- National DV Hotline receives 300,000 calls yearly
- Only 17 states criminalize coercive control as DV
- Prosecution rates for DV homicides pre-VAWA were 70%, now 86%, DOJ
- 2,000 DV shelters serve 1.5 million women/children annually
- Police response time averages 10 minutes, but lethality high
- Batterer programs reduce recidivism by 33%, meta-analysis
- 85% of judges in DV courts trained since 2000
- Victim advocates assist 50,000 court cases yearly, OVW
- No-drop prosecution policies in 20 states increase convictions 50%
- Hotline connects 80% of callers to local services
- Federal funding for DV services $600M annually via VAWA
- 60% of victims receive counseling post-crisis
- Cyberstalking laws cover 48 states, but enforcement low
- Protective orders issued in 1.5M cases yearly, DOJ BJS
- Only 10% of male victims access shelters, gap in services
- 911 calls for DV: 25% of all violent crime calls
- Reauthorization of VAWA 2022 expanded tribal jurisdiction
- Legal aid for DV victims funded for 100,000 women yearly
- Conviction rates for DV assault average 50-70%, varying by state
- 40 states have mandatory arrest laws for DV
Legal and Service Responses Interpretation
Our system offers a patchwork of reactive bandaids—from hotlines to hopeful laws—while still failing to reliably prevent the violence in the first place or protect everyone seeking safety.
Perpetrator Characteristics
- 85-90% of abusers are male, per law enforcement data, DOJ
- Male perpetrators commit 96% of reported intimate partner homicides, FBI data
- 30% of male perpetrators have prior criminal records for violence, BJS
- Abusers often have higher rates of unemployment (40%)
- 60-70% of abusers use alcohol or drugs during incidents, CDC
- Male batterers are 4 times more likely to have antisocial personality disorder
- 50% of perpetrators witnessed DV in childhood, cycle of violence
- Perpetrators stalk victims post-separation in 80% of cases, DOJ
- 25% of perpetrators are military veterans with PTSD links
- Abusers control reproductive choices in 25% of cases
- Male IPV perpetrators average 6.1 assaults per victim lifetime, CDC NISVS
- 40% of perpetrators threaten suicide to manipulate victims
- Perpetrators often isolate victims from family (89%)
- Batterers recidivate at 30-60% within 2 years post-arrest, DOJ
- 75% of abusers minimize or deny violence, per victim reports
- Perpetrators with jealousy issues commit 70% of severe assaults
- 20% of perpetrators are women in male victimization cases, CDC
- Abusers frequently use weapons in 30% of homicides, FBI
- 65% of perpetrators have animal cruelty history, link to violence
- Male abusers average age 30-40, peak offending, BJS
- 50% of child abusers also perpetrate IPV
- Perpetrators escalate violence post-reporting in 75% cases
- 35% of abusers have depression or mental health issues, CDC
- Firearms used in 50% of female intimate partner homicides
- Abusers sabotage victim employment in 60% cases, economic control
- 90% of perpetrators blame victim for abuse, psychological tactic
- Repeat offenders account for 80% of DV arrests, DOJ data
- Perpetrators in LGBTQ relationships show similar male dominance patterns
Perpetrator Characteristics Interpretation
Despite the pervasive myth that domestic violence is an uncontrollable crime of passion, this grim portrait reveals it to be a methodical tool of patriarchal terror, primarily wielded by men who are predictably jealous, frequently criminal, systematically manipulative, and tragically well-practiced.
Prevalence Rates
- According to the CDC, about 41% of women and 26% of men in the US have experienced some form of contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime
- The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) reports that 1 in 4 women (25.1%) and 1 in 9 men (10.4%) experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner
- In the US, 48.4% of women and 48.8% of men have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime, per NISVS 2016-2017 data
- Approximately 23.2% of women and 14.0% of men reported experiencing severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lives, according to CDC NISVS
- Lifetime prevalence of rape by an intimate partner is 18.3% for women and 1.2% for men in the US, CDC data shows
- Over 12 million people over the age of 18 in the US are victims of stalking by an intimate partner each year, per CDC estimates
- In 2010, 1 in 5 women (20.1%) and 1 in 71 men (1.4%) reported being raped by an intimate partner, NISVS 2010 data
- About 35.6% of US women and 28.5% of men experienced coercive control by an intimate partner in their lifetime
- Annual prevalence shows 10% of women and 4% of men experience contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, CDC NISVS
- Nearly half of all women and men in the US have experienced psychological aggression from an intimate partner, per 2016-2017 NISVS
- 1 in 3 US women (35.6%) and 1 in 4 men (28.5%) have faced stalking or psychological aggression by an intimate partner
- In the past year, 8.3 million US women and 7.1 million men experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner, CDC
- Lifetime stalking prevalence by intimate partner is 9.2% for women and 2.5% for men, NISVS data
- 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the US, CDC estimate
- Over 10 million US adults experience domestic violence annually, per NCADV
- 1 in 15 US women (6.7%) and 1 in 37 men (2.7%) were raped by an intimate partner in their lifetime, CDC NISVS 2016-2017
- Annual contact sexual violence by intimate partner affects 2.3% of women and 1.4% of men
- Severe physical violence annual prevalence: 2.3% women, 2.0% men, CDC
- Psychological aggression past-year: 11% women, 10.4% men, NISVS
- Lifetime intimate partner stalking: 32.6% women, 27.4% men experienced some form
- In US, 15.8 million children are exposed to intimate partner violence annually, CDC
- 90-95% of domestic violence victims are women, per DOJ estimates
- 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, NCADV
- 1 in 7 men experience severe physical IPV, CDC
- 88% of US domestic violence shelters serve women primarily
- Homicide by intimate partner accounts for 15% of all homicides, DOJ BJS
- 50% of all homeless women and children in US flee DV
- 1 in 6 US women has been beaten or sexually assaulted by partner
- Annual DV costs US $8.3 billion in medical and mental health care, CDC
- 40-60% of men who abuse women also abuse children
Prevalence Rates Interpretation
Behind the sobering statistics lies a silent epidemic where nearly half of all Americans have endured the intimate betrayal of psychological or physical aggression from a partner, revealing a home-front crisis far more common than anyone would like to admit.
Victim Characteristics
- Women aged 18-24 are 2.3 times more likely to experience IPV than older women, CDC NISVS
- Black women experience IPV at 1.5 times the rate of white women (43.7% vs 34.6% lifetime), CDC NISVS
- 55% of female murder victims are killed by intimate partners, DOJ data
- Pregnant women are more likely to be victims of homicide by partner than any other demographic group, CDC
- 1 in 3 Native American women experience sexual violence by intimate partner lifetime
- LGBTQ individuals face 2.5 times higher rates of IPV than heterosexuals, CDC NISVS
- 61% of bisexual women and 37% of bisexual men report lifetime rape by intimate partner, CDC
- Elderly women over 60 experience higher rates of psychological abuse (9.8%) than physical (1.2%), NISVS
- 49% of Hispanic women report IPV lifetime, compared to 41% non-Hispanic white
- Women with disabilities are 40% more likely to experience DV
- 85% of DV victims are women, per National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- Female victims of IPV are 5 times more likely to need medical treatment, CDC
- 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape by intimate partner, CDC NISVS
- Transgender victims report 31.1% lifetime physical violence by partner
- Rural women face 1.5 times higher IPV rates due to isolation
- 70% of DV victims are mothers, complicating escape, NCADV
- Women in poverty experience IPV at twice the rate of higher-income women, CDC
- Asian/Pacific Islander women report 19% lifetime IPV rate, lower but underreported
- 40% of female IPV victims are between 18-34 years old, DOJ BJS
- Separated/divorced women are 12.5 times more likely to be victimized than married
- 93% of female IPV victims report stalking behaviors
- Male victims are more likely to be young (under 35) and never married, CDC NISVS
- 1 in 4 male victims seek no services post-IPV, higher than females
- Immigrant women face language barriers increasing vulnerability, 2x risk
- 60% of victims experience first IPV before age 25, CDC
- Alcohol use increases victim injury severity by 50%, per studies
- 75% of calls to DV hotlines are from women
- Men comprise 10% of shelter residents despite higher needs
- 80% of female victims report emotional abuse alongside physical, CDC NISVS
- Native Hawaiian women have 45.1% lifetime IPV rate, highest among groups
- 70% of abusers control victims' finances, affecting demographics
Victim Characteristics Interpretation
It is a grim and wide-spread irony that in a nation which prides itself on safety and equality, the most statistically dangerous place for a woman is often within the intimate trust of her own home, with her risk further stratified by age, race, sexuality, and the cruel arithmetic of poverty.