Home > Learn more about domestic violence > Startling statistics

Startling statistics

Domestic violence
Approximately 2.3 million people each year in the United States are raped and/or physically assaulted by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend.1

Over 1,200 women are murdered by a current or former intimate partner in the United States each year.2

A woman is more likely to be injured, raped or killed by a current or former partner than by any other person.3

At least 37% of female patients and 17% of all patients treated in hospital emergency departments for violence-related injuries were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend.4

Teen dating violence
Girls and women between the ages of 16 and 24 are the most vulnerable to domestic violence, experiencing the highest per capita rates of non-fatal intimate partner violence.5

One-third of teens report experiencing some kind of abuse in their romantic relationships, including verbal and emotional abuse.6

Approximately one in five adolescent girls report being physically or sexually hurt by a dating partner.7

40% of teenage girls ages 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend.8

26% of girls in grades 9 to 12 have been the victim of physical abuse, sexual abuse, or date rape.9

The generational cycle of violence
In a study of pregnant teens and adult women, 20% of the teens and 17% of the adult women reported abuse during pregnancy.10

A child's exposure to his/her father abusing his/her mother is the strongest risk factor of transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next.11

A history of family violence or abuse is the most significant factor in determining the difference between juveniles who become delinquent and those who do not.12

The economic impact of domestic violence
Between 55% and 65% of welfare recipients report that at some point in their lives an intimate partner has physically abused them.13 Of employed domestic violence victims, as many as 60% report that they have been reprimanded at work for behaviors related to the abuse and as many as 52% report having lost their jobs because of the abuse.14

The costs of intimate partner rape, physical assault and stalking of U.S. women ages 18 and older exceed $5.8 billion each year, $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health care services.15

  1. National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Extent, Nature, and Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey." July 2000.
  2. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-1999." October 2001.
  3. World Health Organization, Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention, "Violence Against Women: A Priority Health Issue." July 1997.
  4. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Violence-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments." August 1997.
  5. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, 1993-1999." October 2001.
  6. Carolyn Tucker Halpern, Ph.D. et al., "Partner Violence Among Adolescents in Opposite-Sex Romantic Relationships: Findings From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health." American Journal of Public Health 91 (2001) 1680.
  7. Jay G. Silverman, Ph.D. et al., "Dating Violence Against Adolescent Girls and Associated Substance Use, Unhealthy Weight Control, Sexual Risk Behavior, Pregnancy, and Suicidality." Journal of the American Medical Association 286 (October 2001) 572.
  8. Children Now/Kaiser Permanente "National Poll on Kids Health and Safety," December 1995.
  9. Cathy Schoen et al., "The Commonwealth Fund Survey for the Health of Adolescent Girls," November 1997.
  10. March of Dimes, "Facts and Statistics: Battering During Pregnancy." April 1996.
  11. Report of the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family, APA, 1996.
  12. Children's Defense Fund, Child Welfare and Mental Health Division, "Domestic Violence and its Impact on Children." June 2000.
  13. U.S. General Accounting Office, "Domestic Violence Prevalence and Implications for Employment Among Welfare Recipients," November 1998.
  14. U.S. General Accounting Office, "Domestic Violence Prevalence and Implications for Employment Among Welfare Recipients," November 1998.
  15. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, "Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States," March 2003.

©1998-2005 Break the Cycle. All Rights Reserved.