Intimate Partner Violence Facts

The National Network to End Domestic Violence reports that, in the United States, nearly 1 in 2 women (or around 59 million) and around 4 in 10 men (around 52 million) report sexual violence, physical violence and/or stalking in their lifetime by an intimate partner.¹⁷

Women are significantly more likely than men to be injured during an intimate partner assault. On average, more than four women a day are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the US.¹⁸

Over half of female homicide victims are murdered by a current or former male intimate partner.⁴ In nearly 70–80% of intimate partner homicides, no matter which partner was killed, the man physically abused the woman before the murder.

“According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nearly 20 people in the United States are physically abused by an intimate partner per minute.¹⁹

Marginalized groups, such as racial and ethnic minority groups, are at greater risk for worse consequences of IPV.⁴

Female victims of IPV have lower rates of having private insurance and higher rates of having Medicaid compared to those who have not experienced IPV.²

Almost 1 in 4 of IPV victims said that a “health condition keeps them from fully participating in work or other activities. Almost half of women who have experienced IPV in the past five years incurred a physical injury as a result.”²

A little over a quarter of the female victims of IPV state that their physical health is fair to poor, whereas almost half of them classify their mental health as fair to poor.²

Each year, upwards of 324,000 pregnant women in the country are battered by their intimate partners, making IPV more common than gestational diabetes or preeclampsia – conditions in which women are routinely screened.²⁰

Pregnant victims of IPV are found to have “lower knowledge of prenatal oral health care, more oral health problems, and greater unmet dental care needs.²¹

Patients who are screened by a medical/dental professional are 2 times more likely to disclose abuse and they are 4 times more likely to seek help.²²

IPV-related injuries, along with decreased productivity at work, and costs associated with the criminal justice system, are estimated to have a lifetime economic impact of $3.6 trillion.