Violence Against Women

In 2009, an estimated 4.3 million nonfatal violent crimes were committed in the United States, reflecting a significant decline over the previous year and a 39 percent decline since 2000. Males were more likely than females to experience nonfatal violent crime victimization overall (18.4 versus 15.8 per 1,000 persons aged 12 and older, respectively).¹ However, females were more likely to experience nonfatal intimate partner violence (IPV) than males (4.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 persons aged 12 and older). This reflects a significant decrease in the rate of nonfatal IPV since the early 1990s; in 1993 the rate of nonfatal IPV reported by females aged 12 and older was 9.2 per 1,000 females.² Intimate partner violence includes victimization committed by spouses or ex-spouses, boyfriends or girlfriends, and ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends.

Although fatal intimate partner violence has also declined since the early 1990s, females are more than twice as likely as males to be killed by intimate partners.² There is also a racial disparity in intimate partner violence, with Black females experiencing higher rates of both fatal and nonfatal violence than White females.²

Overall, the majority of nonfatal violent crimes (67.5 percent) against females aged 12 and older in 2009 were committed by non-strangers, including intimate partners, family members or other relatives, and friends or acquaintances. In comparison, less than half of male victims of violent crime knew their attackers (45.1 percent). The proportion of violent crimes committed against females in which the offender was known by the victim was highest for rape and sexual assault (79.4 percent), followed by simple and aggravated assault (70.2 and 64.5 percent, respectively). Only robberies were committed about equally between strangers and non-strangers (47.5 and 46.4 percent, respectively).

1 U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Criminal Victimization, 2009. (NCJ 231327) October 2010. Accessed 02/18/11.
2 U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Selected Findings: Female Victims of Violence. (NCJ 228356) September 2009. Accessed 02/18/11.

This image is described in the Data section.

This image is described in the Data section.