U.S. Department of Justice
Date of this Version
10-2009
Citation
Female Victims of Violence, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (October 2009).
Abstract
This report provides the current findings on nonfatal and fatal violent crimes committed against females. Data are from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), 1993 to 2008, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting Program's (UCR) Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR), 1993 to 2007 (the most recent data available). The report focuses on nonfatal intimate partner violence (IPV), fatal IPV, rape and sexual assault, and stalking. It includes estimates of the extent of crimes against females and the characteristics of crimes and victims. Crime trends are also presented, along with comparative estimates of crimes against males.
Nonfatal intimate partner violence
• Intimate partner violence includes victimization committed by spouses or exspouses, boyfriends or girlfriends, and ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends.
• In 2008 females age 12 or older experienced about 552,000 nonfatal violent victimizations (rape/sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated or simple assault) by an intimate partner (a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend) (table 1).
• In the same year, men experienced 101,000 nonfatal violent victimizations by an intimate partner.
• The rate of intimate partner victimizations for females was 4.3 victimizations per 1,000 females age 12 or older. The equivalent rate of intimate partner violence against males was 0.8 victimizations per 1,000 males age 12 or older.
• Females age 18 or older experienced higher rates of intimate partner violence than females age 12 to 17 (4.5 per 1,000 compared to 1.7 per 1,000, respectively). • Black females historically have experienced intimate partner violence at rates higher than white females.
• In 2008, Hispanic and non-Hispanic females experienced intimate partner violence at about the same rates (4.1 per 1,000 females age 12 or older versus 4.3 per 1,000, respectively).
• In 2008, 72% of the intimate partner violence against males and 49% of the intimate partner violence against females was reported to police.
• About 99% of the intimate partner violence against females in 2008 was committed by male offenders. About 83% of the intimate partner violence against males was committed by female offenders in 2008.