Who Are the Victims?

Women were attacked about six times more often by offenders with whom they had an intimate relationship than were male violence victims.

Nearly 30 percent of all female homicide victims were known to have been killed by their husbands, former husbands or boyfriends.

In contrast, just over 3 percent of male homicide victims were known to have been killed by their wives, former wives or girlfriends.

Husbands, former husbands, boyfriends and ex-boyfriends committed more than one million violent acts against women.

Family members or other people they knew committed more than 2.7 million violent crimes against women.

Husbands, former husbands, boyfriends and ex-boyfriends committed 26 percent of rapes and sexual assaults.

Forty-five percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by multiple offenders involve offenders they know.

The rate of intimate-offender attacks on women separated from their husbands was about three times higher than that of divorced women and about 25 times higher than that of married women.

Women of all races were equally vulnerable to attacks by intimates.

Female victims of violence were more likely to be injured when attacked by someone they knew than female victims of violence who were attacked by strangers.