Homicide and Injury from Domestic Violence

While the country focuses on death and injury from auto accidents, health ailments and drug abuse, a shocking number of deaths and injuries are the result of domestic and intimate partner violence. Almost one-third of all female homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner. Tens of thousands of women and men have died, and hundreds of thousands of been injured, at the hands of their abuser over the last few decades.

Almost one out of five or 16.3% of murder victims in the U.S. were killed by an intimate partner; women account for two out of three murder victims killed by an intimate partner.Source: Homicide Trends in the United States, 1980-2008. Nov., 2011. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Almost one-third of female homicide victims that are reported in police records are killed by an intimate partner. Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reports “Crime in the United States, 2000,” (2001).

In 70-80% of intimate partner homicides, no matter which partner was killed, the man physically abused the woman before the murder. Source: Campbell, et al. (2003). “Assessing Risk Factors for Intimate Partner Homicide.” Intimate Partner Homicide, NIJ Journal, 250, 14-19. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice.

Access to firearms yields a more than five-fold increase in risk of intimate partner homicide when considering other factors of abuse, according to a recent study, suggesting that abusers who possess guns tend to inflict the most severe abuse on their partners. Abstract: Jacquelyn C. Campbell et al., Risk Factors For Femicide in Abusive Relationships: Results From A Multi-Site Case Control Study, 93 Am. J. of Public Health 1089, 1092 (2003).

Less than one-fifth of victims reporting an injury from intimate partner violence sought medical treatment following the injury. Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Intimate Partner Violence in the United States,” December 2006.

Intimate partner violence results in more than 18.5 million mental health care visits each year. Source: Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control, Atlanta, GA.

The most common forms of physical violence against women who have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime are being pushed or shoved (27.5%), slapped (20.4), slammed against something (17.2%), hit with fist or something hard (14.2%) and being beaten (11.2%). Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty sleeping, and poor physical or mental health are nearly twice as common among women with a history of rape or stalking by any perpetrator, or physical violence by an intimate partner, compared to women without a history of these forms of violence. Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Only 21% of female victims and 6% of male victims disclosed their victimization to a doctor or nurse at some point in their lifetime. Source: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, Atlanta, GA, and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.