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Facts & Statistics About Domestic Violence

Miami-Dade County reported 9,357 cases of domestic violence in 2016, the most of any county in Florida, according to the latest figures available from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Throughout the month of October, help Miami-Dade County raise awareness about domestic violence and join in efforts to end violence.

Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, gender, religion or sexual orientation. It can happen to married couples, couples who are living together, couples who are dating and to members of the same family who live together. Domestic violence relates to behavior between intimate partners that harms, gains or maintains control over another person, but it can also include such behavior that occurs within the family context (between family members). This includes emotional, verbal, sexual or physical abuse that diminishes an individual’s personal power and creates an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

  • On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men.
  • Every 7 seconds in the United States a women is abused by an intimate partner.
  • 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime.
  • 1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed.
  • Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
  • 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men in the United States have been raped in their lifetime.
  • Almost half of female (46.7%) and male (44.9%) victims of rape in the United States were raped by an acquaintance.
  • Date rape among college students accounts for 35% of attempted rapes, 22.9% of threatened rapes and 12.8% of completed rapes.
  • 19.3 million women and 5.1 million men in the United States have been stalked in their lifetime.
  • Over 46% of college women report that they have been stalked. Of these, 42% were stalked by a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend.
  • A study of intimate partner homicides found that 20% of victims were not the intimate partners themselves, but family members, friends, neighbors, persons who intervened, law enforcement responders, or bystanders.
  • 1 in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence each year, and 90% of these children are eyewitnesses to this violence. Annually, an estimated 3.3 million children witness partner abuse.
  • The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $8.3 billion per year.
  • Between 21-60% of victims of intimate partner violence lose their jobs due to reasons stemming from the abuse.
  • Children are 85% more likely to be abused in homes where domestic violence occurs.
  • 27% of domestic homicide victims are children.
  • Female homicide victims are 2 times more likely to be murdered by an intimate partner than male homicide victims.
  • Only 1/7 of all domestic violence incidents are brought to the attention of the police.
  • Nearly 9,000 domestic violence offenses were reported in 2015 in Miami-Dade County.
  • Florida ranks #3 in the nation for human trafficking.
  • Nearly 20.9% of female high school students and 13.4% of male high school students report being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner; and 57% of teens know someone who has been physically, sexually or verbally abusive in a dating relationship.
  • In 2015, 7.4% of Miami-Dade County high school students reported that they had experienced physical dating violence; 6% reported that had been physically forced to have sexual intercourse.
  • 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted during their college tenure.

Sources: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence; The National Domestic Violence Hotline; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.