Facts & Statistics

Domestic violence is a scary reality for millions of individuals every year. It is important to know domestic violence does not discriminate.
​Here are some facts and statistics to put the frequency of this major problem into perspective. 

Myth vs. Fact

MYTH

It's just a domestic dispute.

FACT

It's actually a deadly crime.
Domestic violence is against the law and often more brutal than stranger-on-stranger assault. Without intervention, the violence will only get worse and continue into the next generation. 

Domestic violence doesn't happen in my neighborhood. 

Domestic violence happens in all communities, at all income and education levels, with victims and perpetrators representing a diverse cross-section of society.  Where someone lives has little to do with what happens behind closed doors.

Only physical violence counts as domestic violence. 

Domestic violence includes several kinds of abuse. 
It can be physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, economic, digital, reproductive and stalking. ​

Learn More About Types of Abuse

It's none of my business. 

Domestic violence takes a toll on the whole community. 
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the health-related costs of intimate partner physical assault, rape, stalking and homicide exceed $5.8 billion annually; and many times, the cost is someone's life.

Domestic violence is love gone wrong.

Love has nothing to do with it. 
Domestic violence is about power and control, not affection.  The violence is most often methodical, calculating, and intended to cause fear and inflict harm.

Learn More About Dynamic of Abuse

Alcohol, drug use, poverty, and/or some other external factor cause domestic violence. 

These facts intensify existing domestic violence situations. 
Perpetrators choose to blame their violent behavior on other factors, or even the victim, rather than taking responsibility for their actions.  Furthermore, they may use addiction or economic problems as an excuse to be abusive.

If victims of domestic violence want help, they will ask for it. 

Abusers often isolate their victims. 
They isolate them from their families, friends and other people who try to help.  Fear, manipulation, and intimidation can prevent victims from reaching out.  Additionally, perpetrators frequently punish victims for telling others and seeking help by escalating abuse and controlling behavior.

Domestic violence victims choose to stay in abusive relationships. 

Victims often do not have a choice. 
Abusers systematically terrorize, oppress and dis-empower their partners to the point that they do not believe they are worthy of love, acceptance, respect, trust and independence. Furthermore, circumstances such as mental or physical health conditions, children, lack of access to financial resources, damaged relationships with friends and family, geographic isolation, and conflicting feelings of love and fear prevent victims from leaving.

Learn More About Barriers to Leaving

Statistics

A Woman's Place

In 2022:

• 844 crisis calls 
• 385 victims served
• 116 community awareness presentations and professional trainings
• 459 clients received job-searching support for long-term self-sufficiency
• 907 legal advocacy services provided​

2021 Statistics published by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

COLORADO

In 2021:

• There were 91 deaths related to domestic violence. 
• 88 percent of domestic violence victims were identified as female.
• 90 percent of perpetrators were identified as male.
• 81 percent of the deaths resulted from gunshot wounds
• Just more than half of the fatalities involved couples who were currently or formerly dating, while 48 percent were among married couples. A little more than one-quarter of those couples were broken up or estranged at the time of the homicide.

Colorado Fact Sheet 2020

UNITED STATES

• On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.
• 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of victim services, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
  • 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. This includes a range of behaviors (e.g. slapping, shoving, pushing) and in some cases might not be considered "domestic violence." 
  • 1 in 7 women and 1 in 25 men have been injured by an intimate partner.
  • 1 in 10 women have been raped by an intimate partner. Data is unavailable on male victims.
• 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence (e.g. beating, burning, strangling) by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
• 1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed.
• On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.
• The presence of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.
• Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
• Women between the ages of 18-24 are most commonly abused by an intimate partner.
• 19% of domestic violence involves a weapon.
• Domestic victimization is correlated with a higher rate of depression and suicidal behavior.
• Only 34% of people who are injured by intimate partners receive medical care for their injuries.
• 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States has been raped in their lifetime.
• Almost half of female (46.7%) and male (44.9%) victims of rape in the United States were raped by an acquaintance. Of these, 45.4% of female rape victims and 29% of male rape victims were raped by an intimate partner.
• 19.3 million women and 5.1 million men in the United States have been stalked in their lifetime.
• 60.8% of female stalking victims and 43.5% men reported being stalked by a current or former intimate partner.
• A study of intimate partner homicides found that 20% of victims were not the intimate partners themselves, but family members, friends, neighbors, persons who intervened, law enforcement responders, or bystanders.
• 72% of all murder-suicides involve an intimate partner; 94% of the victims of these murder suicides are female.
• 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence.

ECONOMIC IMPACT​

• Victims of intimate partner violence lose a total of 8.0 million days of paid work each year.
• The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $8.3 billion per year.
• Between 21-60% of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs due to reasons stemming from the abuse.
• Between 2003 and 2008, 142 women were murdered in their workplace by their abuser, 78% of women killed in the workplace during this timeframe.

PHYSICAL/MENTAL IMPACT​

• Women abused by their intimate partners are more vulnerable to contracting HIV or other STI’s due to forced intercourse or prolonged exposure to stress.
• Studies suggest that there is a relationship between intimate partner violence and depression and suicidal behavior.
• Physical, mental, and sexual and reproductive health effects have been linked with intimate partner violence including adolescent pregnancy, unintended pregnancy in general, miscarriage, stillbirth, intrauterine hemorrhage, nutritional deficiency, abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal problems, neurological disorders, chronic pain, disability, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Victims of domestic violence are also at higher risk for developing addictions to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs.