Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2010

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE DROPPED 64 PERCENT FROM 1993 TO 2010

WASHINGTON – Intimate partner violence declined from about 2.1 million victimizations in 1993 to around 907,000 in 2010, according to a report released today by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). This was a 64 percent decline in the rate of intimate partner violence over the 18-year data collection period.

The estimates in this report are based on data from BJS’s National Crime Victimization Survey, which collects information from victims of crime. Nonfatal intimate partner violence includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault committed by a victim’s current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend.

The overall rate of intimate partner violence declined from 9.8 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older in 1993 to 3.6 per 1,000 in 2010. Most of the decline in the rate of intimate partner violence occurred from 1993 to 2000. Over a more recent 10-year period from 2001 to 2010, the overall rate of intimate partner violence stabilized.

From 1993 to 2010, intimate partner violence declined by more than 60 percent for both male and female victims. The majority (85 percent) of victims were female.

Other findings showed—

• Female victims ages 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 generally experienced the highest rates of intimate partner violence from 1993 to 2010.
• Most female victims of intimate partner violence were previously victimized by the same offender, including 77 percent of females ages 18 to 24, 76 percent of females ages 25 to 34, and 81 percent of females ages 35 to 49.
• From 1993 to 2010, Hispanic females experienced slightly larger declines in the rate of intimate partner violence (down 78 percent) than black (down 62 percent) and white (down 61 percent) females.
• From 1993 to 2010, separated females experienced higher rates of intimate partner violence compared to married or divorced females.
• From 2000 to 2005, the rate of intimate partner victimization remained stable for married females, while it declined for females who were never married (down 31 percent), divorced or widowed (down 31 percent) or separated (down 30 percent).
• Females living in households comprised of one female adult with children experienced intimate partner violence at a rate more than 10 times higher than households with married adults with children and six times higher than households with one female only.

The report, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993–2010 (NCJ 239203), was written by BJS statistician Shannan Catalano. The report, related documents and additional information about the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ statistical publications and programs can be found on the BJS website at http://www.bjs.gov/.

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The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary, provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has six components: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking. More information about OJP can be found at http://www.ojp.gov.