Fact Sheet

Domestic Violence Fact Sheet & Statistics

By Alice Baland, MA, LPC, RD/LD

1-800-799-SAFE (7233) National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-787-3224 (TDD)

“Of the violent intimate victimizations that female victims reported, 85% were assaults, 11% were robberies, and 3% were rapes. Approximately 25% of the assaults were aggravated, meaning the offender used a weapon or seriously injured the victim. The remaining assaults were simple, indicating either a minor injury—bruises, black eyes, cuts, scratches, swelling, or undetermined injuries requiring less than two days of hospitalization—or a verbal threat of harm.” --Female Victims of Violent Crime, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1991.

“In 1991, among all female murder victims in the U.S., 28% were slain by their husbands or boyfriends (38% in Texas).” --Uniform Crime Reports of the U.S. 1991, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice, 1991.

“Domestic violence is a major contributing factor to other problems, including child abuse and neglect, female alcoholism, homelessness, mental illness, and attempted suicide.” --U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1991.

“As violence against women becomes more severe and more frequent in the home, children experience a 300% increase in physical violence by the male batterer.” --Straus, M. and Gelles, R., Physical Violence in American Families, 1990.

“Although divorced and separated women compose 7% of the U.S. population, they account for 75% of all battered women and report being battered 14 times as often as women still living with their partners.” --Special Report: Family Violence, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1992.

“Leaving the abusive relationship does not guarantee safety for battered women and their children. Abusive men often escalate violence to recapture battered women and children.” --Stark, E., and Flitcraft, A., 1988.

“15-25% of pregnant women are battered.” --Stark, E., and Flitcraft, A., 1992.

“Approximately one in 10 high school students has experienced physical violence in dating relationships. One-third of high school and college-aged youths experience violence in an intimate relationship.” --Gamache and Levy, Dating Violence: Young Women in Danger, 1991.

“Estimates suggest that at least 2 to 4 million women each year are physically abused. Six out of every 10 married couples have experienced violence at some time during their marriage. Domestic violence may touch as many as ¼ of all American families.” --Antonio Novello, M.D., “From the Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service, A Medical Response to Domestic Violence.”

“In the U.S., approximately 1.15 million adult women have been victims of one or more forcible rapes by their husbands.” --Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, 1992.

“Abusive partners harass 74% of employed battered women at work, either in person or over the telephone, which results in their being late to work or missing work altogether; eventually 20% lose their jobs.” --Zorza, J., “Woman Battering: A Major Cause of Homelessness,” Clearinghouse Review, 1991.

“In 1992, approximately 20% of the women killed in the workplace were murdered by their husbands or male partners, current or former.” --Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, 1993.