FACT SHEET

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

OVERVIEW
The Violence Against Women Act has been instrumental in reducing and shaping the national
conversation. As Kim Gandy, President of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, stated, “The
difference between today and 1993 is remarkable…VAWA is truly the foundation of our nation’s
response to domestic and sexual violence, stalking and dating violence. It is effective and cost efficient.
It is saving people’s lives and reducing violence against women.”
1

CONTENTS
❏ Current Statistics IPV
❏ Measurable Outcomes
❏ Through the Years
❏ 1990-2010
❏ 2003-2012
❏ 2003-2014
❏ Race & Socioeconomic
❏ Trends
❏ Decline in IPV
❏ Necessary Clarifications
CURRENT STATISTICS REGARDING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE (IPV)
● Approximately 1 in 5 (21.3% or an estimated 25.5 million) women in the U.S. reported
completed or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime.2
● In 2015, 9% of homicides in the U.S. were committed by intimate partners3
● In July 2017, CDC concluded from a long-range study of murders of women in 18 states that
from 2003 to 2014, half of women murdered (10,018) were murdered by a current or former
romantic partner (98% of partners were men). This means in 18 states, 5,000 women were
murdered over 11 years by intimate partners.4
● Between June 2013 and July 2015, VAWA discretionary grant programs funded more than 2,000
grantees and technical assistance providers, and over 1 million services were provided to victims

1
​Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993–2010
2
​Smith, S.G., Zhang, X., Basile, K.C., Merrick, M.T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M., Chen, J. (2018). The National Intimate
Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2015 Data Brief – Updated Release. Atlanta, GA: National Center for
Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3
Expanded Homicide Data Table 10. (2016). Retrieved from
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/expanded_homicide_data_table_10_murd
er_circumstances_by_relationship_2015.xls
4
​Petrosky E, Blair JM, Betz CJ, Fowler KA, Jack SP, Lyons BH. Racial and Ethnic Differences in Homicides of Adult
Women and the Role of Intimate Partner Violence — United States, 2003–2014. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
2017;66:741–746. DOI:​ h ​ ttp://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6628a1​. Hereafter abbreviated Petrosky et al. 2017.
 and families. During each 6-month reporting period, on average, VAWA-funded grantees
provided 124,916 individuals with supportive services.5

MEASURABLE OUTCOMES THROUGH THE YEARS

VAWA POLICY 1990-2010

VAWA led to policy reform that allowed
law enforcement to prosecute
individuals for crimes related to GBV6
The institutionalization of the efforts
regarding the partnerships and ability to
create system change with the Violence
Against Women Act has led to a
decrease in total victimization as well as
7
a decrease in repeat offenders
One of the continued successes of the
act is increased partnerships between
the sectors...the STOP Grant Program
puts particular emphasis on the
collaboration of community agencies
including law enforcement, prosecution,
the courts, health care, and social
8
service agencies
The literature generally suggests a
decrease in criminal victimization as a
result of VAWA. (SPHNA 2015)
Three independent sets of agency data
show substantial declines in child sexual
abuse [between 1990-2010]. At least 4
victim self-report surveys also show
declines.10
There is fairly consistent and
convergent evidence from a variety of
sources pointing to large declines in
sexual abuse of children (Finkelhor &
Jones, 2012)
The likelihood of police notification in
rape incidents increased significantly
11
during the 1990s.
Between 1992 and 2000 the likelihood
of police notification among female
victims of non-sexual assault increased
significantly. (Baumer, 2004)
IPV numbers declined from 1994 to
2010, from approx. 2.1 million

5
​Hanson, B. (2016). The 2016 Biennial Report to Congress on the Effectiveness of Grant Programs Under the
Violence Against Women Act [PDF]. United States Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women.
Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/933886/download
6
A​day, Tara (2015) "The Effectiveness of the Violence against Women Act (VAWA) in Creating System-Level
Change,"SPNHA Review:Vol. 11: Iss. 1, Article 3.Available
at:http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/spnhareview/vol11/iss1/3
7
Zweig, J. M., & Burt, M. R. (2004). Impacts of agency coordination on nonprofit domestic violence and sexual
assault programs in communities with STOP formula grant funding. Violence and Victims, 19, 613-624. Hereafter
abbreviated Zweig & Burt, 2004.
8
​Aday, Tara (2015) "The Effectiveness of the Violence against Women Act (VAWA) in Creating System-Level
Change,"SPNHA Review:Vol. 11: Iss. 1, Article 3.Available
at:h ​ ttp://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/spnhareview/vol11/iss1/3.​ Hereafter abbreviated SPHNA 2015.
10
​Finkelhor, D., & Jones, L. (2012). Have Sexual Abuse and Physical Abuse Declined Since the 1990s?. Retrieved from
http://unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV267_Have%20SA%20%20PA%20Decline_FACT%20SHEET_11-7-12.pdf.​ Hereafter
abbreviated as Finkelhor & Jones, 2012.
11
Baumer, E. (2004). Temporal Variation in the Likelihood of Police Notification by Victims of Rapes, 1973-2000.
Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/207497.pdf
 victimizations in 1994 to around
VAWA FUNDING 907,000 in 2010—a decline of about 1.2
VAWA provides funding for the million victimizations over the 18-year
much-needed services of data collection period12
victims/survivors in addition to
allocating significant funding for About 4 in 5 victims of intimate partner
increased technical assistance across violence were female. (BJS 2012)
sectors… This has helped to increase
understanding of the crimes as well as Rates of intimate partner violence
service delivery across systems. (SPHNA declined for females of all age groups,
2015) all marital statuses from 1994 to 2000
(BJS 2012)
Through VAWA funding, many nonprofit
organizations are able to increase 2003-2012
capacity and infrastructure (SPHNA DV accounted for 21% of all violent
2015) crime13

STOP GRANTS IPV (15%) accounted for a greater

Funding through STOP grants percentage of all violent victimizations
contributed to improved and increased than violence committed by immediate
services for victims, and the family members (4%) or other relatives
coordinated response between agencies (2%) (Truman & Morgan, 2014)
also increased the quality of service
(SPHNA 2015) About 55% of domestic violence was
reported to police. A similar percentage
STOP funding resulted in over half of of IPV and violence committed by
victim services programs providing immediate family members was
policy development and protocol reported to police (56% each) (Truman
development, as well as increased & Morgan, 2014)
training of law enforcement and
9
prosecution

9
​Burt, M.R., Zweig, J.M., Schlichter, K., & Andrews, C. (2000). Victim service programs in the STOP formula grants
program: Services offered and interactions with other community agencies (NCJ No. 196990). Retrieved from
National Criminal Justice Reference Service database.
12
​Catalano, S. (2012). Intimate Partner Violence, 1993–2010. Retrieved from
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ipv9310.pdf.​ Hereafter abbreviated BJS 2012.
13
​Truman, J., & Morgan, R. (2014). Nonfatal Domestic Violence, 2003–2012. Retrieved from
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf.​ Hereafter abbreviated Truman & Morgan, 2014.
 RACE & SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

Race
● General:
○ IPV in the United States touches all ethnicities, socioeconomic groups and geographic
14
locations
○ Across all racial/ethnic groups of women, over half of female homicides for which
circumstances were known were IPV-related, with >90% of these women being killed by
their current or former intimate partner (​Petrosky et al. 2017)
● Hispanic/Latina:
○ The rate of intimate partner violence for Hispanic females declined 78%, from 18.8
victimizations per 1,000 in 1994 to 4.1 per 1,000 in 2010 (BJS 2012)
● African American:
○ African American females experience intimate partner violence at a rate 35% higher
than that of white females15
● Asian:
○ In an Asian and Pacific Islander Institution Domestic Violence survey, 41-60% of API
respondents reported experiencing DV during their lifetimes16

Socioeconomic Status
● IPV is a noteworthy source of psychological trauma and a serious public health concern that
1718
affects both men and women in all racial and socioeconomic groups

14
​Lissner, C. (2018). US Domestic Violence Murder Rate Rises. Retrieved from
https://www.ozy.com/acumen/us-domestic-violence-murder-rate-rises/89868
15
​Women of Color Network Facts & Stats: Domestic Violence in Communities of Color. (2006). Retrieved from
http://www.doj.state.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/women_of_color_network_facts_domestic_violence_20
06.pdf
16
​Asian & Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence, Fact Sheet: Domestic Violence in Asian
Communities.Available at: http://www.apiahf.org/apidvinstitute/PDF/Fact_Sheet.pdf
17
​Bonomi AE, Anderson ML, Reid RJ, Rivara FP, Carrell D, & Thompson RS (2009). Medical and psychosocial
diagnoses in women with a history of intimate partner violence. Archives of Internal Medicine, 169, 1692–1697.
doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2009.292
18
S​ mith, S.G., Chen, J., Basile, K.C., Gilbert, L.K., Merrick, M.T., Patel, N., Walling, M., & Jain, A. (2017). The National
Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010-2012 State Report. Atlanta, GA: National Center for
Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 TRENDS
Decline in IPV
● The overall pattern and size of the decline of rate of DV
were similar to the decline in the overall violent crime rate
(BJS 2012)
● 1995-2015: The estimated rates of violent IPV among
women and men decreased from 15.5 and 2.8, respectively,
to 5.4 per 1,000 women and 0.5 per 1,000 men
● 2001-2010: The decline in the overall IPV rate slowed and
stabilized while the overall violent crime rate continued to
decline ​(BJS 2012)
● 2003-2012: Most DV (77%) occurred at or near the victim’s
home between 2003-2012 ​(Truman & Morgan, 2014)
● 2003-2012: The majority of DV was simple assault (64%),
compared to serious violence (36%). This pattern held for all
victim–offender relationship categories ​(Truman & Morgan, 2014)
● 2003-2012: about 45% of DV resulted in injury. Violence perpetrated by intimate partners (48%)
resulted in injuries more often than violence perpetrated by immediate family (37%) and other
relatives (36%) ​(Truman & Morgan, 2014)
● 2003-2012: Simple assaults by intimate partners remained relatively stable, fluctuating from 2.1
per 1,000 to 3.0 per 1,000 ​(BJS 2012)
● 2010-2012: Violence perpetrated by intimate partners and other relatives remained relatively
stable. ​(BJS 2012)
● 2015 to 2016: Assaults (including aggravated and simple assault) increased from 14.8 to 16.9
victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older...During the same period, rape or sexual
assaults declined from 1.6 to 1.1 victimizations per 1,000 persons. IPV declined, from 3.0 to 2.2
per 1,000 persons.19
○ IPV continued to decrease as other types of assaults increased

NECESSARY CLARIFICATIONS
Data on intimate partner violence and sexual assault varies based on methods used to collect this
information. In general, the Department of Justice uses language addresses crimes while the CDC uses
language addressing behaviors. As a result, numbers may vary. Both these methods of collection
contribute to the literature on IPV and sexual assault.

19
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2018). Criminal Victimization, 2016: Revised [PDF]. Retrieved from
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv16re_sum.pdf