FAQ: What are the facts about domestic violence?

• From one-fifth to one-third of all women will be physically assaulted by a partner or ex-partner during their lifetime. ("Violence Against Women: Relevance for Medical Practitioners." Journal of the American Medical Association 267(23): 1992)
• Intimate partner violence made up 22 percent of the violent crimes against women between 1993 and 1998. (Intimate Partner Violence. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000)
• In 1998, women experienced about 900,000 violent offenses at the hands of an intimate partner, and men were victims of about 160,000 violent crimes by an intimate partner. (Intimate Partner Violence. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000)
• In 1998, one-half of the female intimate violence victims were physically injured, and 37 percent sought professional medical treatment. (Intimate Partner Violence. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000)
• A study of more than 1,000 high school students found that 45.5 percent of girls and 43.2 percent of boys reported being the victim of violence from dating partners at least once. (O'Keefe, Maura, and Laura Trester. "Victims of Dating Violence Among High School Students." Violence Against Women 4(2): 195-223, 1998)
• In 1999, 32 percent of all female murder victims were killed by their current or former spouses or boyfriends, whereas 3 percent of male murder victims were killed by their current or former spouses or girlfriends. (Crime in the United States 1999. Washington, DC: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2000)
• Among women, being black, young, divorced, or separated; earning lower incomes; living in rental housing; and living in an urban area were all associated with higher rates of intimate partner victimization between 1993 and 1998. (Intimate Partner Violence. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000)
• During 1997, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) documented 3,327 cases of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender domestic violence victimization. Men reported 1,746 of the incidents, women reported 1,581 of the incidents. (Annual Report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Domestic Violence. New York, NY: National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 1998)

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