Research and data

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The multibillion-dollar cost of intimate partner violence

A 2024 study by the University of California San Diego Center on Gender Equity and Health and Tulane University’s Newcomb Institute has quantified the economic impact of intimate partner violence in California, with a shocking economic burden of $73.7 billion annually.

Data
Policy

Immigrant survivors may fear police

In a 2017 survey of victim advocates and attorneys, 78% of advocates reported that immigrant survivors expressed concerns about contacting the police.

Restorative justice
Race and culture
Data

Domestic violence can cause homelessness

Between 22 and 57% of all women experiencing homelessness report that domestic violence was the immediate cause.

Housing
Prevention
Data

Youth experiences of violence

According to 2016-17 CDC data, up to 20% of women and up to 15.5% of men first experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner before they turned 18.

Youth
Child welfare
Data

Prevalence among high school students

Teen dating violence is widespread: the CDC’s 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that 1 in 12 U.S. high school students experienced physical violence, and the same amount experienced sexual violence in a dating relationship.

Youth
Child welfare
Data

Domestic violence restraining orders (DVRO)

DVROs are California courts’ most frequently issued protective order, according to a 2024 report from Attorney General Rob Bonta. From 2020 to 2023, judges issued 361,980 DVROs.  

In this same period, the attorney general’s report found a 12% increase in DVROs issued throughout California. Within this amount, there was an 8% rise in temporary DVROs and a 22% increase in longer-term final DVROs.

Gun violence
Policy
Data

Mass shootings

One study found that nearly one third of mass shooters had a history of domestic violence.

Gun violence
Data

Domestic violence homicides

Of the 82 people killed in a domestic violence homicide in California during 2021, 60 victims were identified as female and 22 as male. Communities of color were disproportionately impacted, with 35% of those murdered reported as Hispanic, 15% Black, 6% “other” and 26% white.

Data

Risk for Black women

Black women are twice as likely to be shot and killed by an intimate partner compared to white women.

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High cost of domestic violence

A 2024 study by UC San Diego School of Medicine's Center on Gender Equity and Health and Tulane University's Newcomb Institute found that every year in California, each victim of intimate partner violence pays $88,000 for “health care, lost productivity and income, and criminal justice and other response program spending.”

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Personal costs of domestic violence

According to a 2020 FreeFrom survey, people experiencing domestic violence in Los Angeles and Orange County reported that their partners harming them stole $1,280 per month.

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Domestic violence exposure and child protective services

Recent guidance issued by the Administration of Children and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services advised that “while exposure to domestic violence is associated with many challenging outcomes for children, learning a child has witnessed domestic violence does not inherently warrant a report to child protective services.”

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Disproportionate investigations for Black, Native and Indigenous children

A recent study found that 53% of Black children will be subject to an investigation by child protective services by the time they turn 18. Native and Indigenous children are also over-represented in the child welfare system; the percentage of Native and Indigenous children in foster care is 2.66 times higher than their share of the population. 

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Child removal and domestic violence reporting

Child removal deters survivors from seeking help. In a 2015 survey of 900 advocates, service providers, and attorneys, a majority of respondents said that survivors frequently told them that they were afraid that reporting sexual or domestic violence to police would result in the removal of their children. Eighty-nine percent of respondents also indicated that contact with the police resulted in involvement with child protective services, either sometimes or often.

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Domestic violence and involvement in the child welfare system

There is a strong relationship between experiencing domestic violence and becoming involved in the child welfare system. According to the UCLA Pritzker Center, in 2020, of more than 38,000 open child welfare cases referred to Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services, 51.6% involved allegations of domestic violence.

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