Understanding the scope of domestic violence through evidence-based research helps us build better solutions, advocate for survivors, and drive meaningful change.
Data from leading institutions reveals the breadth of this crisis — and underscores why awareness, education, and survivor-centered support are non-negotiable.
Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between ages 15 and 44 in the United States — more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
Source: National DV Hotline
Non-fatal strangulation is one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence and a critical predictor of future homicide. Survivors who have been strangled are at dramatically elevated risk of being killed by their abuser.
Children who witness domestic violence are at higher risk of experiencing abuse themselves and of becoming abusers as adults — a cycle that must be broken through early intervention.
Many survivors face significant barriers to accessing legal protection, including financial dependency, fear of retaliation, and limited access to legal representation.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics
As technology evolves, so does abuse. Stalkerware, location tracking, and online harassment are increasingly used as tools of control and intimidation by abusers.
Indigenous, Black, and LGBTQ+ individuals face disproportionately high rates of intimate partner violence, compounded by systemic barriers to accessing services and justice.
Non-fatal strangulation is one of the most lethal and least understood forms of domestic violence. It is a critical predictor of future homicide — and it often leaves no visible marks.
Strangulation causes oxygen deprivation to the brain and can result in serious medical complications that may not appear immediately — sometimes manifesting days or weeks after the assault.
Source: Strack, McClane & Hawley — Journal of Emergency Medicine
Because strangulation often leaves no visible marks, it is historically under-prosecuted — frequently charged only as misdemeanor assault despite its life-threatening nature.
Source: Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention; NCADV
Research consistently identifies patterns in who experiences strangulation in intimate partner violence contexts — and what factors compound the danger.
Source: Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell, Danger Assessment; Johns Hopkins University
Beyond the physical danger, strangulation is a profound act of psychological terror. It communicates a clear message: "I have the power to end your life." This terror is a deliberate tool of control.
Source: Glass et al., 2008; Campbell et al., 2003 — American Journal of Public Health
Evidence-based findings that shape how we approach survivor support, prevention, and advocacy at Transcend Trauma.
Research shows that school-based programs teaching healthy relationship skills and consent can reduce dating violence by up to 50% among adolescents.
Survivors who receive trauma-informed advocacy and counseling are significantly more likely to achieve long-term safety, stability, and healing compared to those who receive crisis-only intervention.
Non-fatal strangulation is one of the strongest predictors of intimate partner homicide. Survivors who have been strangled by a partner are 7.5 times more likely to be killed by that partner — making it a red-flag emergency requiring immediate intervention.
Financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases. Survivors with access to financial resources, job training, and economic support are far more likely to leave and remain free from abusive relationships.
Survivors with strong social support — friends, family, faith communities, or peer groups — recover more quickly and report higher long-term wellbeing than those who are isolated.
The most dangerous time for a survivor is when they attempt to leave an abusive relationship. Safety planning with trained advocates dramatically reduces risk during this critical period.
Controlling behaviors — monitoring, isolation, financial control — are stronger predictors of severe future violence than physical assault history alone, underscoring the need for early intervention.
Abusers frequently threaten, harm, or hold pets hostage to prevent survivors from leaving. Fear for a beloved animal is one of the most commonly cited barriers to escape.
Domestic violence is not a rare or isolated phenomenon — it is a pervasive public health crisis affecting tens of millions of Americans across every demographic, income level, and geography.
An estimated 3 million children witness domestic violence in their homes each year. Exposure to intimate partner violence is a form of childhood trauma — one that carries serious and long-lasting consequences for development, mental health, and future relationships.
Young people who have aged out of the foster care system experience intimate partner violence at rates far exceeding the general population — a crisis that sits at the intersection of childhood trauma, housing instability, and a lack of safe, stable adult relationships.
People with physical, cognitive, or mental health disabilities experience intimate partner violence at rates up to twice that of the general population, and face compounding barriers to accessing help.
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A selection of peer-reviewed studies, government reports, and nonprofit research that inform our programs and advocacy work.
A comprehensive national survey measuring the prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking in the United States. Key findings include that nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men have been raped in their lifetime.
PrevalenceNational SurveyView Report →Research from the Urban Institute examining how pandemic-related economic stress, job loss, and housing instability contributed to increased rates of intimate partner violence — particularly among low-income households.
Economic FactorsCOVID-19View Study →Published in the Journal of Family Violence, this study demonstrates that coercive control behaviors — not just physical violence — are the strongest predictors of femicide, supporting the need for expanded legal definitions of abuse.
Coercive ControlLethality RiskJournal of Family Violence →Conducted by the Safety Net project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, this report documents how abusers use smartphones, GPS, social media, and smart home devices as tools of surveillance and control.
TechnologyDigital SafetySafety Net Resources →Research from the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention and peer-reviewed journals documents that non-fatal strangulation is one of the strongest predictors of intimate partner homicide. Survivors who have been strangled face 7.5 times the risk of being killed by their partner. Strangulation often leaves no visible external marks, making it critically under-identified by medical and law enforcement responders.
Lethality RiskStrangulationMedical ResponseTraining Institute on Strangulation Prevention →Research from Chapin Hall's Midwest Study on the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth documents that young people who age out of the foster care system face significantly elevated rates of intimate partner violence victimization. Compounding factors include prior childhood trauma, lack of stable housing, absence of adult support networks, and disrupted attachment patterns. The study found that nearly 1 in 3 young women who had been in foster care reported IPV within two years of leaving the system.
Foster YouthIPV RiskTransition-Age YouthChapin Hall Research →Drawing on the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) research and subsequent longitudinal studies, this body of work establishes that witnessing domestic violence in childhood is a significant ACE linked to depression, PTSD, substance use, and increased risk of future IPV victimization and perpetration. Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse partners as adults; trauma-informed childhood intervention can interrupt this cycle.
Children & ExposureACEs ResearchIntergenerational ViolenceCDC ACEs Research →A longitudinal study tracking 278 survivors who received trauma-informed advocacy over 24 months. Results showed significantly improved mental health outcomes, greater safety, and reduced re-victimization compared to control groups.
Trauma-Informed CareOutcomes ResearchVAWnet Research Library →A landmark peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Emergency Medicine examining non-fatal strangulation as a predictor of intimate partner homicide. The research found that women who had been strangled by an intimate partner faced dramatically elevated risk of being killed, establishing strangulation as a critical red-flag indicator in lethality assessments.
StrangulationLethality RiskPeer-ReviewedRead on PubMed Central →Research gives us the map — but it's people like you who create the change. Whether you're a survivor, advocate, or ally, there's a place for you here.