Domestic Violence

Facts

• Every month, an average of more than 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner. —Everytown Research
• 92 percent of all women killed with guns in high-income countries in an average year were from the United States. —Everytown Research
• Abusers with firearms are five times more likely to kill their female victims. —Everytown Research
• The deadly intersection of guns and intimate partner violence disproportionately affects Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women as well as pregnant and postpartum women. —Everytown Research
• Domestic violence and gun violence are deeply interconnected, impacting millions of women, families, and communities across the U.S. Guns are more likely to turn abuse fatal. —Everytown Research
• Women in the United States are 28 times more likely to be killed with a gun than women in other high-income countries. —Everytown Research
• On average, more than once per day in the United States, a perpetrator kills an intimate partner and then dies by suicide. —Violence Policy Center
• These tragedies often include children, family members, and friends. —Sierra Smucker, Rose E. Kerber, and Philip J. Cook
• The risk of homicide is increased by 500 percent when a firearm is present in a domestic violence situation.

Possible Solutions Underway

Federal and state policy

• Research shows that policies disrupting abusers’ access to guns can save lives. The 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act addresses several forms of gun violence, including disarming convicted domestic abusers irrespective of marital status. —Everytown Research

Actions underway

• Strengthen state laws prohibiting domestic abusers from possessing guns and require abusers to relinquish guns they already have.
• Implement and enforce existing firearm-relinquishment laws through state and local courts and law enforcement agencies.
• Strengthen the federal background check system by closing loopholes and addressing deficiencies.
• Fund comprehensive research on the connection between guns and intimate partner violence.