Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence: Applying Best Practice Guidelines

Statistics

Introduction

Defining the Problem

Statistics

Identifying Abuse

Consequences of Violence

Risk Factors for IPV/DV

Dynamics of Abuse

Select Populations and IPV/DV

Barriers to the Identification of Violence

Best Practice Guidelines

Reporting IPV/DV

Documentation & Follow-up

Safety Planning

Conclusion

Resources

References

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

Test

Exit to Menu



One in four women report that they have been physically assaulted or raped by an intimate partner. These crimes occur in both heterosexual and same-sex relationships.

As stated previously, the legal definitions related to IPV/DV vary from state to state, making compiling accurate statistics difficult. Additionally, IPV/DV is one of the most chronically underreported crimes (NCADV, 2007). Only approximately one-quarter of all physical assaults, one-fifth of all rapes, and one-half of all stalkings perpetuated against females by intimate partners are reported to the police (NCADV, 2007). Even fewer IPV/DV incidents against men are reported. The reported data greatly underestimates the true magnitude of the problem.

National Statistics

In many cases, the severity of the IPV/DV behaviors is not known and because of the differences in the definitions of IPV/DV and how statistics are gathered, there are discrepancies in the statistics.

  • An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year (NCADV, 2007a).
  • 85% of domestic violence victims are women (NCADV, 2007a).
  • Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they know (NCADV, 2007a).
  • Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence (NCADV, 2007a).
  • Most cases of IPV/DV are never reported to the police (NCADV, 2007a).
  • Almost one-third of female homicide victims that are reported in police records are killed by an intimate partner (NCADV, 2007a).
  • In 70-80% of intimate partner homicides, no matter which partner was killed, the man physically abused the woman before the murder (NCADV, 2007a).
  • One in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape (NCADV, 2007a).
  • Nearly 7.8 million women have been raped by an intimate partner at some point in their lives (NCADV, 2007a).
  • Sexual assault or forced sex occurs in approximately 40-45% of battering relationships (NCADV, 2007a).
  • 1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men have been stalked in their lifetime (NCADV, 2007a)
  • 81% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner; 31% are also sexually assaulted by that partner (NCADV, 2007a).
  • Each year, women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner related physical assaults and rapes (CDC, 2006).
  • Men are the victims of about 2.9 million intimate partner related physical assaults (CDC, 2006).
  • IPV/DV resulted in 1,544 deaths in 2004. Of these deaths, 25% were males and 75% were females (CDC, 2006).
  • Between 4% and 8% of pregnant women are abused at least once during the pregnancy (Gazmararian, et al., 2000).
  • Prevalence of IPV/DV varies among race. Among the ethnic groups most at risk are American Indian/Alaskan Native women and men, African-American women, and Hispanic women (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000b).
  • Young women and those below the poverty line are disproportionately victims of IPV/DV (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000b).

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