Statistics and Data on Domestic Violence and Couple Conflict

For the tenth consecutive year, on September 16, 2015, NNEDV conducted a one-day unduplicated count of adults and children seeking domestic violence service in the United States.

Domestic Violence and Healthy Marriage advocates often appear to contradict each other when they report statistics on the levels and nature of intimate partner conflict. This research brief helps clarify some of the misunderstandings, errors and apparent contradictions which derive from treating domestic violence as a single phenomenon.

These findings are based on National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The NCVS inquires about criminal victimizations from an ongoing, nationally representative sample of household residences in the United States. Violent acts examined include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault.

This Applied Research paper provides data on domestic violence rates across social classes, highlights the relationship between economic stress and domestic violence, and explores employment, social support networks, and weaknesses in social services.

The National Violence Against Women (NVAW) Survey sampled both women and men and thus provides comparable data on women's and men's experiences with violent victimization. Respondents to the survey were asked about physical assault (including rape and stalking) they experienced as children by adult caretakers and about what they experienced as adults by any type of assailant. Respondents who disclosed that they had been victimized were asked detailed questions about the characteristics and consequences of their victimization.