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National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

A Federal resource for professionals, parents and youth working to prevent violence committed by and against young people.

Intimate Partner and Family Violence Fact Sheet                        
(Printable Version)

This document is also available in a portable document format (PDF 74 KB).

Introduction  top

Intimate partner violence is defined as physical, emotional, or verbal abuse; forced isolation; threats; or intimidation occurring between current or former spouses, dating heterosexual couples, and those in gay or lesbian relationships. The common element in all abusive relationships is the abuser's need for power and control over his or her partner.

Since intimate partner violence typically occurs within the privacy of the home, it often goes unreported. However, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) estimates that about one million violent crimes were committed against persons by their current or former spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends in 1998. Women tend to be the primary victim in intimate partner violence, and in 1998 the NCVS reported that 85 percent of all victims of this form of violence were women.

Intimate partner violence touches everyone in a family. Studies show that children who witness violence at home experience behavioral problems and increased aggression, have less developed social and conflict resolution skills, and may suffer long-term developmental effects. These youth are also at risk of engaging in future violence and of being abused themselves. Researchers have found that people who batter their partners are also more likely to abuse their children.

Dating violence and sexual assault are particularly prevalent forms of intimate partner violence among adolescents and college-aged youth and also tend to go unreported.

Overview  top

Intimate partner violence includes physical, emotional, or verbal abuse; forced isolation; threats; or intimidation between current or former spouses, dating heterosexual couples, and those in gay and lesbian relationships. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) gathers data about such crimes using an ongoing, nationally representative sample of households in the United States. In 1998, the NCVS identified more than one million victims of intimate partner violence, a rate of 466 per 100,000. However, the actual prevalence of this type of violence is likely higher as much intimate partner violence goes unreported. Between 1993 and 1998, the Bureau of Justice estimates that only about half of all victims reported cases to law enforcement authorities.1

Women are the victims of intimate partner violence at a rate of nearly five times that of men, and in 1998 the NCVS found that women comprised nearly 85 percent of all intimate partner victimizations in the United States. While the overall rates for this type of violence against women dropped between 1993 and 1998, intimate partner violence accounted for 22 percent of all violent acts against women during this five year period. By contrast, only three percent of violent acts against men during this timeframe were committed by an intimate partner. Women aged 16-34 experienced the highest rates of intimate violence. Those victimized most frequently were women between the ages of 20 and 24.

Physical assault and battery are the most common forms of intimate partner abuse, and in 1998 65 percent of all reported incidents fell into this category. Other forms of intimate partner violence captured by NCVS include aggravated assault, robbery, rape/sexual assault, and murder. During 1998, 18 percent of reported cases of intimate partner violence were classified as aggravated assault, 10 percent were robbery, and six percent were rape/sexual assault. While only two percent of all intimate partner violent acts committed in 1998 were lethal, intimate partner homicides accounted for 11 percent of all murders and 30 percent of female murders nationwide.

While intimate partner violence crosses racial, cultural, and socioeconomic lines, the NCVS reports that between 1993 and 1998, higher rates of intimate partner victimization occurred among women with lower annual incomes and those living in urban areas. Black women were victimized by intimate partners at a rate 35 percent higher than that of white females, and more than two times the rate of women of other races. However, white women tend to under-report the prevalence of intimate partner violence so the rates for Black women may be over represented. There was no perceptible difference in intimate partner victimization rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic persons. Higher rates of intimate partner violence are experienced by divorced or separated persons across gender lines. Significantly, about four in 10 female victims of intimate partner violence lived in households with children under the age of 12.

Contributing Factors  top

Chronic alcohol abuse, high levels of marital conflict, and a lack of communications skills are factors that have been associated with intimate partner violence. At the environmental level, access to a range of systems (including victim support, social services, and legal and law enforcement) that can provide resources and guidance may not be available or sufficient. Societal norms that reinforce male dominance and violence as an acceptable problem-solving strategy and means of control also play a role as do community and family dynamics that may not hold the abuser accountable for his or her actions.

The common element in every incident of intimate partner violence, however, is the abuser's need and sense of entitlement for power and control in the relationship. Often this need for control stems from either witnessing or directly experiencing violence in the home as an adolescent or a child, which is one of the risk factors most consistently identified with the perpetration of intimate partner abuse in the future.2

Children Witnessing of Violence  top

Of the 22.3 million adolescents ages 12-17 in the United States today, approximately 1.8 million have been victims of a serious sexual assault, 3.9 million have been victims of a serious physical assault, and almost nine million have witnessed serious violence.3 These youth have recently become the center of much research and attention in an attempt to understand the impact, implications, and risk related to witnessing and experiencing violence in the home. A review of 31 studies related to children witnessing violence revealed strong evidence that children who witness violence at home exhibit a variety of behavioral, emotional, cognitive and longer-term developmental problems and may see violence as a viable solution for resolving conflicts and exerting power.4

In general this meta-analysis found that boys who have witnessed violence or who have experienced it directly tend to exhibit more frequent problems that are outwardly expressed or "external," such as hostility and aggression. Girls, on the other hand, generally show evidence of more internalized problems, such as depression and somatic complaints. However, there are also findings that dissent from this general trend by showing that girls, especially as they get older, also exhibit more aggressive behaviors.

Children who live in a home where intimate partner violence is present are also at risk of abuse themselves. Researchers have found that individuals who batter their partner are also more likely to batter their children. Not surprisingly, the combination of being abused and witnessing violence appears to be associated with more serious problems for children than witnessing violence alone.

Dating Violence  top

Violence between individuals in a dating or courtship relationship is particularly prevalent among younger individuals. This form of violence encompasses sexual assault, rape, physical assault and battery, and verbal and emotional abuse. Because studies and surveys of this type of violence use different methods and definitions and the vast majority of incidents go unreported, estimates vary on the extent and reach of the problem.

The average frequency of nonsexual dating violence (excluding sexual assault and rape) is approximately 22 percent among male and female high school students and 32 percent among college students.5 Further, a 1995 NCVS report found that nearly half of the estimated 500,000 sexual assaults reported annually to the police were committed by friends or acquaintances.6 Adolescent girls and young women are four times as likely to be victims of sexual assault than females of other ages, and the vast majority of those crimes are committed by someone the female knows.7

Some of the characteristics that increase vulnerability and risk for date rape and violence among female adolescents and young adults include: younger age at first date; early sexual activity; earlier age of menarche; a past history of sexual abuse or prior sexual victimization; and being more accepting of rape myths and violence against women.8 Alcohol and other drug use are also positively correlated with the prevalence of violence in dating relationships.

Factors associated with male perpetration of sexual assault include: having sexually aggressive peers; heavy alcohol or drug use; acceptance of dating violence; the male's assumption of key roles in dating such as initiating the date, being the driver, and paying dating expenses; miscommunication about sex; previous sexual intimacy with the victim; interpersonal violence; traditional gender roles; adversarial attitudes about relationships; and belief in rape myths.9

Publications  top

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
www.usdoj.gov

Federal Response and Resources  top

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
http://www.ed.gov

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
www.hhs.gov/

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
www.usdoj.gov

References  top

  1. Callie Marie Rennision, PhD and Sarah Welchans, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Intimate Partner Violence, National Crime Victimization Survey, May 2000.
  2. Fact Sheet on Male Batters, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January, 2000.
  3. Dean Kilpatrick, PhD, and Benjamin Saunders, PhD, The Prevalence and Consequences of Child Victimization, National Institutes of Justice Research Preview, US Department of Justice, April 1997.
  4. Jeffrey Edleson, Problems Associated with Children's Witnessing of Domestic Violence, University of Minnesota School of Social Work, Violence Against Women Online Resources, Department of Justice, April 1999.
  5. Fact Sheet on Dating Violence, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 1999.
  6. Ronet Bachman, PhD and Linda Saltzman, PhD, Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, August 1995.
  7. VI Rickert and CM Wiemann, Date Rape Among Adolescents and Young Adults, Journal of Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology, November 1998.
  8. VI Rickert and CM Wiemann, Date Rape Among Adolescents and Young Adults, Journal of Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology, November 1998.
  9. Fact Sheet on Dating Violence, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 1999.