Domestic Violence Statistics: The Horrific Reality. Research reveals partner
abuse is more prevalent than you probably ever imagined.
Domestic violence is, in many ways, a quiet epidem-
ic. Though in plain sight, victims are often invisible,
fearfully denying their situation and hiding behind
the facade of a happy home. But the statistics reveal
a shocking reality. Every nine seconds, a woman in
America is assaulted or beaten, according to the Na-
tional Coalition Against Domestic Violence. A mind-
boggling one in three women (and one in four men)
has been a victim of physical brutality by an intimate
partner, the group also reports. That makes intimate
partner violence “the single greatest cause of injury
to women,” per the Domestic Violence Intervention
Program.
Hard to imagine the scope we’re talking about? Con-
sider this: The number of women killed by a current
or former male partner added up to nearly double
the soldier lives lost in war in Afghanistan and Iraq
during the same 11-year time frame, The Huffington
Post calculated last year.
“Domestic violence is an epidemic, no matter what
statistic you look at, yet as a society we often close
our eyes to it,” Amy Sanchez, director of Break The
Cycle, an organization on the NO MORE steer-
ing committee, tells GoodHousekeeping.com. And
although the rate of family violence in the U.S. has
slightly decreased during the last 10 years.
The uncomfortable truth? The majority of marriages
will include some violence. The Domestic Violence
Intervention Program (DVIP) reports that the FBI
“estimates violence will occur during the course of
two-thirds of all marriages.” Occupation, income
level, urban or when it comes to racial divide, there
is no difference either.