Domestic Violence Facts

Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.

Nearly one-third of American women (31%) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.

Domestic violence is primarily a crime against women. Women account for 85% of the victims of intimate partner violence, and men account for approximately 15% of the victims.

30% of Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year.

Women of all races and economic strata are equally vulnerable to violence by a partner or intimate.

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the U.S. – more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.

Acts of domestic violence occur every 12 seconds in the U.S.

28 percent of all women who use hospital emergency services have been battered by their partners.

4,500 women are killed each year in the U.S. by abusive husbands or boyfriends.

20 percent of all murders are committed within the family, and 13 percent are committed by spouses.

Fact Sheets (provided by Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance)