ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 9:00 A.M. EDT BJS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2000 202/307-0784
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
DECLINED FROM 1993 THROUGH 1998
One-Third of All Murdered Females Were Killed by Partner
WASHINGTON, D.C. Violence against women by intimate
partners fell by 21 percent from 1993 through 1998, the
Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
announced today. An estimated 876,340 violent victimizations
against women by intimate partners occurred during 1998 down
from 1.1 million in 1993. In both 1993 and 1998 men were the
victims of about 160,000 violent crimes by an intimate partner
(current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend).
On average each year from 1993-1998, 22 percent of all
female victims of violence in the United States were attacked
by an intimate partner, compared to 3 percent of all male
violence victims.
The data are from BJS's National Crime Victimization
Survey, in which a nationally representative sample of men and
women age 12 years old and older are interviewed twice a year.
Intimate partners committed fewer murders in 1996, 1997
or 1998 than in any other year since 1976. Between 1976 and
1998 the number of male victims of intimate partner murder
fell an average 4 percent per year, and the number of female
victims fell an average 1 percent.
During 1998 women were the victims of intimate partner
violence about five times more often than males. There were
767 female victims of intimate partner violence per 100,000
women that year, compared to 146 male victims.
According to data compiled by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, about 11 percent of all murders in 1998 (1,830
homicides) were the result of intimate partner violence,
compared to about 3,000 such homicides in 1976. In 72 percent
of the intimate partner homicides the victim was female (1,320
incidents) , compared to 50 percent in 1976.
The number of white female intimate partner homicide
victims rose 3 percent between 1976 and 1998, while the number
of black females killed by intimates fell 45 percent, black
males fell 74 percent and white males fell 44 percent.
Between 1997 and 1998, the number of white females murdered by
an intimate partner increased 15 percent.
Between 1993 and 1998 women from 16 to 24 years old
experienced the highest per capita rates of intimate
victimization--19.6 per 1,000 women.
About half of the intimate partner violence against
women was reported to police during the six-year period.
Black women were more likely than other women to report such
violence.
Among victims of violence by a domestic partner, the
percentage of women who reported the violence to police was
higher in 1998 (59 percent) than in 1993 (48 percent).
Half of the female intimate violence victims told the
survey they were physically injured, and 37 percent of these
victims sought professional medical treatment.
About 45 percent of the female intimate violence
victims lived in households with children younger than 12
years old. Among all U.S. households, 27 percent were homes
to children younger than 12 years. However, it is not known
to what extent young children in households with intimate
violence witnessed that violence.
The special report "Intimate Partner Violence" (NCJ-
178247), was written by BJS statisticians Callie Marie
Rennison and Sarah Welchans. Single copies may be obtained
from the BJS fax-on-demand system by dialing 301/519-5550,
listening to the complete menu and selecting document number
201. Or call the BJS clearinghouse number:1-800-732-3277.
Fax orders for mail delivery to 410/792-4358.
Additional information on intimate partner homicide
trends may be found on the Internet at:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/intimates.htm
The BJS Internet site is:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Additional criminal justice materials can be obtained
from the Office of Justice Programs homepage at:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov
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BJS00123
After hours contact: Stu Smith at 301/983-9354Date Published: May 17, 2000