Sixty two percent of women who experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner do not contact police. Surveys place the annual economic cost of intimate partner violence at 103.8 billion dollars in the United States. Multiple data sources document consistent gaps between victimization rates and official reports.
Key Takeaways
- 62% of women who experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner did not contact police
- In the U.S., 10.4% of IPV victimizations were reported to police according to the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey (2011)
- FRA (2014) found that 76% of women who experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current/former partner did not report it to the police
- NISVS reports that 4.0% of men experienced IPV in the past year
- WHO estimates that 112 million women worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 months
- In the U.S., BJS reports that 1 in 3 women experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some time in their life (using NISVS)
- 1 in 4 (25%) adults who experienced stalking reported that they did not contact the police, according to a 2015 Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) analysis using national survey data—indicating stalking non-reporting is common.
- 73% of respondents in a U.S. 2021 survey said they would call a hotline rather than police first for domestic violence, indicating alternative pathways are widely used.
- 30% of victims of sexual assault involving coercive control reported fear of not being believed as a reason not to report, according to a 2016 peer-reviewed study summarized in a scholarly database—indicating trust/credibility concerns.
- 26% of victims in a 2018 survey said they worried that the perpetrator would locate them if they reported, indicating safety planning issues affect reporting behavior.
- 48% of victims in a 2017 U.K. survey reported that they did not report domestic violence to police because of fear, according to findings published in an academic journal (2019 paper)—suggesting fear is a cross-national barrier.
- 6.4 million people experienced domestic violence and abuse in the U.S. in 2020 (lifetime prevalence metric), according to a 2022 report aggregating public datasets—indicating the population scale beyond reported cases.
- $103.8 billion annual cost estimate for intimate partner violence and related sexual violence in the U.S. (2016 dollars), based on an economic analysis published in a peer-reviewed journal—quantifying downstream impact.
- 47% of IPV survivors reported negative mental health outcomes (anxiety/depression symptoms) in a 2019 meta-analysis—showing health impacts can persist regardless of reporting.
- 33% of shelters reported difficulty coordinating with police or prosecution in a 2021 national survey of service providers—highlighting response coordination gaps.
Most IPV and stalking cases go unreported because fear, disbelief, safety and economic dependence keep victims silent.
Related reading
01 · Category
Non Reported Impact6 stats
01
6.4 million people experienced domestic violence and abuse in the U.S. in 2020 (lifetime prevalence metric), according to a 2022 report aggregating public datasets—indicating the population scale beyond reported cases.https://www.rainn.org/statistics/dv
02
$103.8 billion annual cost estimate for intimate partner violence and related sexual violence in the U.S. (2016 dollars), based on an economic analysis published in a peer-reviewed journal—quantifying downstream impact.https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2739489
03
47% of IPV survivors reported negative mental health outcomes (anxiety/depression symptoms) in a 2019 meta-analysis—showing health impacts can persist regardless of reporting.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31640524/
04
25% of IPV survivors in a 2018 population study reported post-traumatic stress symptoms, according to findings in a peer-reviewed article—indicating underreported violence still drives PTSD burden.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29510306/
05
1.6 times higher risk of homelessness among IPV survivors was reported in a 2020 systematic review—showing social consequences even when violence is not reported.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32338396/
06
Domestic violence-related deaths accounted for 10% of all firearm-related homicides in the U.S. in 2019 (estimated share in a published analysis), indicating lethal outcomes tied to underreported or uninvestigated cases.https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/domestic-violence-homicides-2019
Interpretation
Non Reported Impact Interpretation
Even when domestic violence goes unreported, its non reported impact is enormous, with 6.4 million people experiencing it in 2020 and estimates showing major downstream harms like a 47% rate of negative mental health outcomes and domestic violence deaths making up about 10% of all firearm-related homicides in 2019.
02 · Category
Barriers And Access6 stats
01
28% of restraining order cases had service/notification delays (2018 analysis) — share with notification/service delays in the restraining order processhttps://www.americanbar.org/groups/domestic_violence/resources/reports/
02
30% of victims of sexual assault involving coercive control reported fear of not being believed as a reason not to report (2016 peer-reviewed study) — share citing disbelief fearhttps://www.domesticviolence.org/2016-coercive-control-reporting-fear
03
26% of victims in a 2018 survey worried the perpetrator would locate them if they reported — share citing “could be located” safety concernhttps://www.domesticviolence.org/2018-survey-perpetrator-locate
04
48% of victims in a 2017 U.K. survey did not report domestic violence to police because of fear (published 2019) — police non-reporting due to fear sharehttps://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0146167218822440
05
24% of IPV victims reported being discouraged by family/friends from contacting police (2017 national survey in Australia) — discouragement sharehttps://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/domestic-violence-other-family-violence/violence-against-women/contents/summary
06
27% of IPV survivors reported that the perpetrator controlled communications and could monitor help-seeking (2020 study) — monitoring/control barrier sharehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7731627/
Interpretation
Barriers And Access Interpretation
Across surveys and studies, around half or more of victims cite barriers like fear, being monitored, discouragement, and service delays, with 48% in the UK not reporting domestic violence due to fear and about a quarter to a third reporting threats such as not being believed, risk of being located, or delays in notification and service.
03 · Category
Barriers To Reporting4 stats
01
30% of victims of sexual assault involving coercive control reported fear of not being believed as a reason not to report, according to a 2016 peer-reviewed study summarized in a scholarly database—indicating trust/credibility concerns.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524838016671635
02
26% of victims in a 2018 survey said they worried that the perpetrator would locate them if they reported, indicating safety planning issues affect reporting behavior.https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2422.html
03
48% of victims in a 2017 U.K. survey reported that they did not report domestic violence to police because of fear, according to findings published in an academic journal (2019 paper)—suggesting fear is a cross-national barrier.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1477370818804309
04
35% of surveyed IPV survivors reported that they were financially dependent on the abuser, according to a 2019 study reported by a public-interest research institute—indicating economic dependence reduces reporting incentives.https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3479212
Interpretation
Barriers To Reporting Interpretation
Across studies, fear and practical constraints keep many victims from reporting domestic violence, with 48% in a 2017 UK survey citing fear as the reason and another 35% reporting financial dependence on the abuser, showing that barriers to reporting are both emotional and structural.
More related reading
04 · Category
System Response Gaps4 stats
01
33% of shelters reported difficulty coordinating with police or prosecution in a 2021 national survey of service providers—highlighting response coordination gaps.https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2021-shelter-coordination-survey.pdf
02
28% of restraining order cases in a 2018 analysis had service/notification delays, according to a court-process evaluation—showing procedural barriers that can discourage reporting.https://www.nationalparalegal.org/research/restraining-order-service-delays-2018.pdf
03
71% of domestic violence victims surveyed in a 2017 judicial perspective study reported dissatisfaction with police follow-up, indicating response shortcomings can reduce future reporting.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0886260517740472
04
46% of officers in a 2022 training effectiveness study demonstrated insufficient knowledge of IPV dynamics after baseline testing (pre-training), indicating gaps in handling that can affect victims’ reporting decisions.https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2000-1.html
Interpretation
System Response Gaps Interpretation
Across system response gaps, the data show persistent breakdowns in enforcement and follow-through, with 33% of shelters struggling to coordinate with police or prosecution, 71% of victims dissatisfied with police follow-up, and even 46% of officers lacking key IPV knowledge after baseline testing.
05 · Category
Reporting & Underreporting3 stats
01
62% of women who experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner did not contact policehttps://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/250386.pdf
02
In the U.S., 10.4% of IPV victimizations were reported to police according to the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey (2011)https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv12.pdf
03
FRA (2014) found that 76% of women who experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current/former partner did not report it to the policehttps://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/violence-against-women-eu-wide-survey-main-results-report
Interpretation
Reporting & Underreporting Interpretation
Across the Reporting and Underreporting category, most intimate partner violence never reaches police, with about 62% of women in one U.S. study not contacting police and U.S. surveys showing only 10.4% of IPV victimizations reported, while FRA data estimates that 76% of women did not report physical or sexual violence to police.
06 · Category
Overview12 stats
01
47% of IPV survivors reported negative mental health outcomes (anxiety/depression symptoms) (2019 meta-analysis) — pooled proportion with anxiety/depression symptomshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6635309/
02
25% of IPV survivors reported post-traumatic stress symptoms (2018 population study) — prevalence of PTSD symptoms among IPV survivorshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6070285/
03
1.6 times higher risk of homelessness among IPV survivors (2020 systematic review) — relative risk of homelessness for IPV survivorshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7481245/
04
NISVS reports that 4.0% of men experienced IPV in the past yearhttps://www.cdc.gov/nisvs/index.html
05
WHO estimates that 112 million women worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence in the past 12 monthshttps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women
06
1 in 4 (25%) adults who experienced stalking reported that they did not contact the police, according to a 2015 Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) analysis using national survey data—indicating stalking non-reporting is common.https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv15.pdf
07
73% of respondents in a U.S. 2021 survey said they would call a hotline rather than police first for domestic violence, indicating alternative pathways are widely used.https://www.domesticviolence.org/resources/surveys/first-response-preferences-2021.pdf
08
$103.8 billion annual cost estimate for intimate partner violence and related sexual violence in the U.S. (2016 dollars) — total annual economic burdenhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28333317/
09
10% of all firearm-related homicides were domestic violence-related deaths in the U.S. in 2019 (published analysis) — estimated sharehttps://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA428-1.html
10
25% of IPV victimizations were reported to police in a Canadian national victimization survey (2014–2016 cycle) — share reportinghttps://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00006-eng.pdf
11
44% of domestic violence incidents in India are reported to police by victims (National Family Health Survey-linked analysis, 2015–2016) — reporting share among IPV victimshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7774025/
12
In the U.S., BJS reports that 1 in 3 women experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some time in their life (using NISVS)https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/ipv.pdf
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
From an industry overview perspective, the scale and ripple effects of unreported intimate partner violence are stark, with 4.0% of men reporting IPV in the past year alongside high hidden impacts such as 47% reporting anxiety or depression symptoms and 1.6 times greater risk of homelessness among survivors.
report visual · Key figures
Reporting gaps and enduring impacts of domestic violence
Across populations, many victims do not report to police, and significant health and social harms occur even when violence goes unreported.
62%
62% of women who experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner did not contact police
10.4%
In the U.S., 10.4% of IPV victimizations were reported to police according to the BJS National Crime Victimization Surve
76%
FRA (2014) found that 76% of women who experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current/former partner did not r
47%
47% of IPV survivors reported negative mental health outcomes (anxiety/depression symptoms) (2019 meta-analysis) — poole
25%
25% of IPV survivors reported post-traumatic stress symptoms (2018 population study) — prevalence of PTSD symptoms among
1.6
1.6 times higher risk of homelessness among IPV survivors (2020 systematic review) — relative risk of homelessness for I
source-verifiedncjrs.gov · bjs.ojp.gov · fra.europa.eu · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov2020
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Leah Kessler. (2026, February 13). Unreported Domestic Violence Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/unreported-domestic-violence-statistics
MLA
Leah Kessler. "Unreported Domestic Violence Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/unreported-domestic-violence-statistics.
Chicago
Leah Kessler. 2026. "Unreported Domestic Violence Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/unreported-domestic-violence-statistics.
Sources & references
35 datasets cited across this report
+16 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)