Domestic Violence Statistics in the United States in 2025

In the following article, you will read the domestic violence statistics we uncovered through research.

FindLaw tells us that the U.S. Department of Justice defines domestic violence as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship used by one partner to gain or keep control over the other intimate partner.”

Besides the short definition of domestic violence, there are elements of this behavior that are included.

Domestic violence includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse, psychological abuse, threats of abuse, stalking, and cyberstalking.

We will discuss the elements of domestic violence in a little more detail later in the article.

First, let’s discuss the statistics relevant to domestic violence.

Key Statistics

• Around 1 in 5 victims in homicide cases are killed by their intimate partner.
• 47.3% of women and 44.2% of men reported some form of domestic violence in their lifetime.
• 19.6% of women and 7.6% of men experienced contact sexual violence from an intimate partner
• Intimate partner violence (IPV) usually starts before the age of 25.
• Every day, over 20,000 phone calls reporting domestic violence are made in the United States.
• 93.1% of pregnant women experience IPV.
• 60% of children in the United States witnessed domestic abuse against a parent.
• LGBTQ members fall victim to IPV at equal or higher rates as compared to heterosexuals.
• 63.8% of Multiracial women reported IPV in 2016.
• 51.5% of multiracial men reported IPV in 2016/2017.

Vital Domestic Violence Statistics in 2025

1. Around 1 in 5 Victims in Homicide Cases Are Killed by Their Intimate Partner.

The CDC’s online Violence Prevention publication revealed that United States crime reports say that around 1 in 5 homicide victims are killed by their domestic partner.

These same reports revealed that more than 50% of female homicide victims are killed by former or current male domestic partners.

(CDC Violence Prevention)

2. 47.3% of Women and 44.2% of Men Reported Some Form of Domestic Violence in Their Lifetime. 

A CDC NISVS survey from 2016/2017 revealed that in the United States 47.3% of women experienced contact, physical, sexual, or stalking by a domestic partner in their lifetime.

That’s 1 out of 2 women, or 59 million women. Men in the same category accounted for 2 in 5 men, which represents 44.2% or 52.1 million men.

(NISVS 2016/2017)

3. Results from the NSVIS Survey Showed that 19.6% of Women and 7.6% of Men Experienced Contact Sexual Violence from An Intimate Partner. 

Contact sexual violence incudes rape, unwanted sexual contact, sexual coercion, or being forced to penetrate someone else’s body (applies to men only).

Another 7.6% of men reported contact sexual violence.

(NISVS 2016/2017)

4. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Usually Starts Before the Age of 25.

When IPV happens during adolescence, it’s referred to as “teen dating violence”, or TDV. This issue impacts millions of teens in the United States every year.

An estimated 11 million males and 16 million females who reported IPV or teen dating said it occurred before they were 18.

(CDC Violence Prevention, NISVS 2016/2017)

5. Every Day, Over 20,000 Phone Calls Reporting Domestic Violence Are Made in The United States.

Every day, domestic violence hotlines in the United States take 20,000 phone calls.

Almost 20 people are physically abused by their domestic partner every minute.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence calls this “the single greatest cause of injury to women.”

(Good Housekeeping, NCADV)

Domestic Violence Demographics

6. 93.1% of Pregnant Women Experience IPV.

In a study of 830 pregnant women, the prevalence of domestic abuse, or IPV came to 93.1%.

The most prevalent form of IPV was psychological abuse at 92.9%. Sexual abuse among pregnant women accounted for 11% and physical abuse 7.7%.

(BMC Public Health)

7. 60% of Children in The United States Witnessed Domestic Abuse Against a Parent. 

In a national study, it was discovered that 60% of American children were exposed to some form of domestic abuse at home, in school, or in their community.

Also, nearly 40% of children were the direct victims of domestic abuse involving two or more violent acts.

Nearly 1 in 10 American children have seen a family member abuse another family member.

(U.S. OJP)

8. LGBTQ Members Fall Victim to IPV at Equal or Higher Rates as Compared to Heterosexuals.

Domestic abuse negatively impacts the LGBTQ community as much as or more than the heterosexual community.

IPV shows no gender bias or any bias among humans.

Regardless of the demographics of the victim, domestic abuse is a major problem in the United States.

(NACDV 2) 

9. 63.8% of Multiracial Women Reported IPV in 2016.

In terms of ethnicity, multiracial women have the highest incident reports for domestic abuse in America.

The approximate number of IPV victims in 2016/2017 was 375,000.

These are pre-pandemic numbers. Overall, domestic abuse worsened during the pandemic.

(NISVS 2016/2017)

10. 51.5% of Multiracial Men Reported IPV in 2016/2017. 

Among men of the multiracial community, the highest incidents of IPV occurred in 2016/2017 in the United States.

This community has the highest numbers of domestic abuse at 278,000 cases.

(NISVS 2016/2017)

11. Kentucky Has the Highest Rate of Domestic Violence Across the United States.

Domestic violence statistics in the United States accounts for a national average of 37.2%.

The state with the highest rate of domestic violence is Kentucky at 45.3%. South Dakota is the state with the lowest rate of domestic violence at 27.8%.

(Wisevoter)

12. Women Aged 18 to 24 Are at The Highest Risk of Domestic Violence in The United States.

In 2022, domestic violence victims are highest among women between 18 and 24.

Women, men, and children of all ages and ethnicities are all vulnerable to IPV.

According to the Journal of Emergency Medicine, there was an uptake in domestic violence in the United States of between 25% and 30% in 2020.

(Pulse for Good)

Statistics for Types of Domestic Abuse

13. 48.8% of Men and 48.4% of Women Have Encountered at Least One Instance of Psychologically Aggressive Behavior from Their Domestic Partner.

Besides this statistic, 4 in 10 women have endured at least one type of coercive behavior from an intimate partner.

In men, this figure is 4 in 10. 17.9% of women have been prevented from seeing their friends and family.

95% of men who physically abuse their partner also emotionally abuse them.

(NCADV 3)

14. 21% to 60% of Domestic Violence Victims Have Lost Their Jobs Due to The Abuse.

Financial abuse can come in the form of a lost job due to abuse at home, work, or other outside sources.

In fact, 64% of IPV victims said that their abuse affected their ability to work and 40% said their domestic partner harassed them at work in person and over the phone.

(NCADV4)

15. 14% to 25% of Women Are Sexually Assaulted by Their Domestic Partners During a Relationship.

More statistics about domestic abuse shows that between 40% and 45% of women living in abusive relationships will also be sexually assaulted over the course of that relationship.

Furthermore, women who are sexually abused by their intimate partners suffer from long-term mental and physical health issues, including PTSD.

(NCADV 5)

The Elements of Domestic Abuse

We promised you some details about the elements of domestic abuse in the introduction, so that’s what we’ll include here.

Types of Domestic Abuse

Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse is when a domestic/intimate partner humiliates the other in public.

The abuser may also harass, threaten, demean, withhold affection and your basic needs, prevent you from talking to your family and friends, constantly criticize you, insult you, ignore you and your feelings, take away your means of communication (i.e. phone, tablet, computer), and use other means to control you.

Physical Abuse: Physical abuse includes hitting, throwing things at you, biting, spitting, fighting, using weapons, strangling, slapping, pushing, punching, kicking, scratching, murder and other forms of physical violence.

sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse involved things like forcing you to perform sex acts, sexual assault, unwanted sex, using objects to physically hurt you for sex, forcing you to watch porn, forcing you to strip or become a sex worker, reproductive coercion, refusing you birth control, forcefully trying to get you pregnant, etc.

Financial Abuse: Yes. You can be abused financially by means of refusing you access to marital or your own money, not allowing your name to be on the back account, not letting you get a bank account, denying you work to make money, forcing you to sign financial legal documents, etc.

FAQs

Conclusion

It’s unfortunate that domestic violence still exists in today’s world.

Even with more awareness, resources, and technology that can help women and men facing various forms of domestic violence, the numbers don’t seem to be decreasing.

The victims of domestic abuse are still suffering in silence.

How can we call our society “civilized” when people can’t even feel safe and secure in their own homes with the people who claim to love them?

Women, men, teens, and children are all at risk of domestic abuse nowadays.

The risk factors are different for some demographic groups than others, but it can happen to anyone.

It’s time to end domestic violence against women, men, adolescents, and children, so people can feel safe and loved in their homes.

The challenge is to find the root of the problem, or roots of the problem, to begin to fix it. Hopefully in the coming years we can see a decline in domestic violence.

We hope you have learned something from these domestic violence statistics for 2025.

If you or someone you love is living in an abusive relationship, don’t hesitate to reach out for help.

You have the information you need.

Sources

BMC Public Health	CCJ	CDC Violence Prevention
FindLaw	Good Housekeeping	NCADV
NCADV 2	NCADV 3	NCADV 4
NCADV 5	NISVS 2016/2017	Pulse for Good
U.S. OJP	Wisevoter