The Invisible Crisis: Uncovering the Reality of Domestic Violence

Over 10 million people are abused each year in the United States, regardless of gender. Nearly one in four women and one in seven men have experienced severe physical violence, and almost half of all women and men have experienced psychological abuse by a partner in their lifetime. Most survivors of abuse experience some form of IPV for the first time before the age of 25.

Approximately 37.1% of Pennsylvania women and 30.4% of Pennsylvania men experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence ( PCADV) notes that in 2023, 119 individuals in the state lost their lives due to domestic violence, with firearms involved in over 75% of these cases. This tragic toll underscores the ongoing risks and challenges facing survivors, particularly as domestic violence fatalities remain prevalent across all demographics and regions within the state.

In 2022 alone, PA Department of Human Resources recorded over 100 homicides related to domestic violence, highlighting the deadly nature of abuse. In 2019, 109 victims lost their lives to domestic violence 44% of whom were killed by a current or former intimate partner.

Please note that PCADV uses a conservative method of identifying domestic violence-related deaths. They do not include cases where no arrests have been made or where the relationship between the victim and perpetrator is unclear. They count fatalities involving current and former intimate partners; family members; police officers; and bystanders, interveners and others such as former partners killed by new partners or new partners killed by former partners.They also exclude child abuse and neglect deaths because they are reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. However, we include certain child deaths when the deaths are a direct result of domestic violence. These may include situations where the perpetrator kills the entire family or the children/child to harm the parent.