Domestic Violence by State 2024

Domestic violence is a violent crime violence or abuse in a domestic setting, such as in cohabitation or marriage. Domestic violence is often used as a synonym for intimate partner violence, which involves a spouse or intimate partner in an intimate partner relationship.

Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any age and can occur in both heterosexual and same-sex relationships. Domestic violence can also include violence against children, parents, or the elderly and can take on several forms, including physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse.

The abuser often believes that the abuse is an entitlement, acceptable, justified, or unlikely to be reported. Victims often feel trapped by the abuser in domestic violence situations through isolation by their abuser from family and friends, lack of finances, fear, shame, cultural acceptance, and power and control. Victims can develop physical disabilities and chronic health problems as well as severe psychological disorders.

In the United States, an estimated 10 million people experience domestic violence every year. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, about 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner. About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, and/or partner stalking with injury, PTSD, contraction of STDS, etc.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, several resources are available to help. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

Domestic Violence Statistics by State

1. Oklahoma

About 49.1% of Oklahoma women and 40.7% of Oklahoma men experience domestic violence in their lifetimes, including intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner rape, or intimate partner stalking. This is the highest in the United States. Oklahoma ranks third in the U.S. for the number of women killed by men in single-victim, single-offender homicides.

2. Kentucky

Kentucky has the second-highest rate of domestic violence, with 45.3% of women and 35.5% of men having experienced domestic violence. In a single day in 2019, Kentucky's domestic violence programs served 1,420 adults and child survivors, while another 128 requests when unmet due to a lack of resources. Kentucky also ranked 11th in the U.S. for femicides, which is the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female.

3. Missouri

Missouri has the third-highest rate of people who have experienced domestic violence. About 41.8% of Missouri women and 35.2% of men experience intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking. In 2018, Missouri had 45,548 reported domestic violence incidents, a 10.3% increase from 2014. @018 also saw 89 reported domestic-violence related homicides, comprising 11.47% of all Missouri homicides.

4. Nevada

About 43.8% of Nevadan women and 32.8% of men experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Nevada has the fifth-highest overall crime rate in the United States. For many years, Nevada was ranked first for domestic violence fatalities and ranked third in 2014. About 48.1% of Nevada women and 30.9% of Nevada men experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. In 2014 alone, domestic violence services were contacted 65,026 times. Nevada has the fifth-highest rape rate in the country of 70.2 per 100,000 people.

5. Arizona

Arizona has the fifth-highest domestic violence rates in the United States, with about 42.6% of women and 33.4% of men experiencing intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking. Approximately 304,000 Arizona women have experienced stalking by an intimate partner. Additionally, Arizona had 96 domestic violence-related deaths in 2019.