Domestic Violence and Firearms

Background

Domestic violence is a pattern of verbal, physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse in any relationship that is used by a partner to gain or maintain power and control over the other partner.10 Domestic violence is widespread in the United States — nearly one in four (23.2%) women and one in seven (13.9%) men will experience severe physical violence at the hands of their intimate partner in their lifetime.11

Guns and domestic violence are a lethal combination. Nearly half of all women murdered in the United States are killed by a current or former intimate partner, and more than half of these intimate partner homicides are by firearm.20,20 Women are five times more likely to be murdered by an abusive partner when the abuser has access to a gun.12,13

More than one in four homicides in the United States are related to domestic violence, and the use of firearms in domestic violence situations increases the risk that there will be multiple fatalities.14 Intimate partner homicide events often result in multiple victims, including the deaths of coworkers, friends, new dating partners of the victim, strangers, police officers, and children or family of the victim. Additionally, it is not uncommon for the perpetrator of the intimate partner homicide to die by suicide.15

Even when a weapon is not discharged, abusers often use the mere presence of a gun to coerce, threaten, and terrorize their victims, inflicting enormous psychological damage.16 Abusers’ previous threats with a weapon and threats to kill their partners are both predictors of intimate partner homicide.17

While domestic violence affects women and men all over the world, domestic violence perpetrated with a firearm disproportionately affects American women. Nearly 92% of all women killed by guns in high-income countries were American women, and American women are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed than women in other high-income countries.18

Who is Impacted by Domestic Violence?

Anyone can experience domestic violence and domestic violence incidents can and do happen both inside and outside of the home. As such, it is incorrect to refer to domestic violence as “private violence.”

While anyone can experience domestic violence, the following groups are at greater risk:

• Women21
• Racial/ethnic minority women22
• People, especially women, with disabilities23
• LGBTQ Americans24

Women

Intimate partner violence is highly prevalent in the U.S., with millions of Americans reporting some form of intimate partner violence (physical, sexual, stalking, or psychological aggression) each year.25 While both men and women are killed by intimate partners, women are much more likely to be victims of intimate partner homicide. Studies show that nearly 78% of intimate partner homicide victims are women, 98% of whom are killed by male partners.26,27,28

Pregnant women

Pregnant women, and specifically women with unintended pregnancies, are often at an increased risk for intimate partner violence. Some researchers estimate that every year, over 300,000 pregnant women in the U.S. experience some intimate partner violence, although estimates vary depending on the definition of abuse used and the population being studied.29 An analysis using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System found approximately 5.8% of women reported physical abuse by a male partner either during or in the year prior to becoming pregnant, with Black Americans, Native Americans, and women younger than 20 years old reporting the highest rates of abuse.30 Studies that used the Abuse Assessment Screen (which includes behaviorally specific questions) found higher prevalence of intimate partner violence, ranging from 10-16% prevalence of physical abuse during pregnancy.31

Pregnant women in rural areas of the country may also be at heightened risk of intimate partner violence during pregnancy. A study of nearly 1,500 women seeking abortions in Iowa found that, between November 2006 and July 2008, 16.1% of the women reported experiencing intimate partner violence in the past year. Women living in small rural towns reported the highest prevalence of intimate partner violence among the sample with 22.5% reporting intimate partner violence in the past year compared to 15.5% of women in urban areas and 13.5% of women in large rural towns.32

Additionally, it is believed that the true prevalence of intimate partner violence during pregnancy is underestimated as women may be reluctant to disclose that they are experiencing violence, especially during pregnancy.33 No matter the true prevalence, there are many negative effects of intimate partner violence among pregnant women including negative health effects for the mother and the infant, engagement in risky health behaviors during pregnancy such as smoking or drinking, and depression or suicide.34

Racial/Ethnic Minority Women

While women of all ages, races, and ethnic backgrounds can be victims of homicide or intimate partner homicide, young, racial/ethnic minority women are especially at risk.35 Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women are at a disproportionately high risk of homicide and intimate partner homicide as compared to women of other races/ethnicities.

The CDC analyzed 4,442 intimate partner violence-related femicides in 18 states36 from 2003 to 2014. Of the intimate partner femicides in the study, 55% of the victims were White, 30.6% were Black, 2.5% were American Indian/Alaska Native, 2.7% were Asian/Pacific Islander, and 9.1% were Hispanic.

The data shows that White women make up the majority of intimate partner homicide victims. However, because the majority of women (63.4%) in the U.S. are White, the intimate partner homicide rate for White women is lower than for other women. The graph below highlights that racial/ethnic minority women (specifically Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women) are disproportionately impacted by intimate partner violence-related homicide.37 Further, while over half of all femicides were by firearm, Black women were more likely to be killed by firearms than other racial/ethnic groups.38

Women with disabilities

Disabilities can range from mobility issues to cognitive difficulties to hearing or vision impairment. In general, adults living with disabilities are more at risk for abuse. People with disabilities may be less likely to care for themselves and may be more reliant on a partner, which may lead to a dynamic that includes abuses of power.39 In 2015, the rate of violent victimization against persons with disabilities was 2.5 times the age-adjusted rate for persons without disabilities.40 Studies show that women with disabilities are more vulnerable to intimate partner violence than women without disabilities.41,42,43 Children with disabilities are also at increased risk of violence and abuse, compared to children without disabilities. Children with disabilities are three times more likely to be sexually abused, 3.8 times more likely to be physically abused, and nearly four times more likely to be emotionally abused than children without disabilities.44

LGBTQ Americans

Sexual minority Americans are more at risk of intimate partner violence than their heterosexual counterparts. According to the CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, bisexual women are nearly twice as likely to report experiencing intimate partner violence in their lifetime than heterosexual women. The data also shows that bisexual women are over 2.5 times more likely to report having experienced intimate partner sexual violence in their lifetime compared to heterosexual women.45

While gay men report lower prevalence of lifetime intimate partner violence than heterosexual men, the prevalence of lifetime intimate partner violence is greater for bisexual men than heterosexual men.46

Data on intimate partner violence among transgender people is limited, but studies suggest that rates of intimate partner violence among transgender Americans may be similar (or higher) than rates of intimate partner violence among sexual minority men, sexual minority women, and cisgender people.47

Equity concerns

Unfortunately, there is limited scientific evidence in the U.S. on the intersection of domestic violence and firearms in vulnerable populations. We need more robust, accurate data about these groups to both understand the severity of the problem and to determine how to best protect these people and provide services and policies in an equitable manner.

Where does Domestic Violence Occur?

State variations

The United Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings analyzed the percentage of adult women across the country who experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.48 Kentucky women had the highest percentage of lifetime intimate partner violence in the U.S. with nearly half of all adult women in Kentucky experiencing contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Women in South Dakota had the lowest percentage of lifetime intimate partner violence among the states, but still — more than one in four women in South Dakota experience intimate partner violence in their lifetime.

Urban vs. rural

While the majority of studies on intimate partner violence are conducted on urban populations, research suggests that intimate partner violence is as prevalent, or even more prevalent, in rural areas.49,50,51 In addition to an increased prevalence of intimate partner violence among women living in rural areas, there is an increase in frequency and severity of intimate partner violence depending on how rural an area a woman lives in. For example, research on the disparities of rural domestic violence found that 61.5% of women in isolated rural areas reported four or more events of physical violence in the past year compared with 39.3% of women living in urban areas.52 Further, more than 30% of women in isolated rural areas reported severe to very severe physical violence compared with 10% of women in urban areas.53

Women in rural areas who experience intimate partner violence may also experience worse health outcomes (both physical and psychological) as a result of the violence due to a lack of services and overall difficulty accessing services that do exist. Women in rural areas have more limited access to domestic violence shelters and other health services than women in urban areas. One study found that women living in rural areas were found to be almost twice as likely to be turned away from services due to lack of staffing personnel.54 Women in rural areas may also have a harder time accessing these services altogether as the nearest domestic violence shelter or health service may be hours away.55 Finally, individuals in rural areas may be less open to government assistance for intimate partner violence than those living in urban areas.56

What factors influence intimate partner homicide?

Intimate partner violence is the best predictor of intimate partner homicide. Research shows that, in the majority of intimate partner homicide cases, the female partner experienced intimate partner violence, regardless of which partner was killed. As such, interventions aimed at addressing intimate partner violence are critical in preventing intimate partner homicide.57,58

One tool that can help identify women most at risk of intimate partner homicide is called the Danger Assessment Tool. Developed in the 1980s by Jacquelyn Campbell at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, the Danger Assessment Tool can help determine the level of danger a woman faces in her relationship and how likely she is to be killed by her intimate partner.

The Danger Assessment includes a calendar (for tracking severity and frequency of abuse) and a 20-item scoring instrument (where a victim of domestic violence can answer yes or no questions about risk factors for intimate partner homicide). Another Danger Assessment Tool also exists to measure risk level in female same-sex relationships.59 For more information on the Danger Assessment Tool, click here.

Conditions that increase the likelihood of intimate partner homicide include:

• Abusers’ access to a gun60
• Threats or assaults with a gun61
• Threats to kill62
• Prior acts of domestic violence63,64
• Stalking65
  • The majority of femicide victims (76%) and of attempted femicide victims (85%) experienced stalking in the 12 months leading up to their homicide or homicide attempt.66
• Extreme jealousy67,68
• Attempts to choke69
• Forced sex70

An analysis of the Danger Assessment found that women who were threatened or assaulted with a gun (or another weapon) were 20 times more likely to be murdered than women who were not threatened or assaulted with a deadly weapon.71 Women who were threatened with murder by an intimate partner were 15 times more likely to be killed than other women. While a gun in the home puts everyone in the home at risk of injury or death, the risk was especially great for abused women living in a home with a gun. Indeed, an abused woman who lived in a home with a gun was 6 times more likely to be killed than other women.

Gaps in Data

Federal level intimate partner violence and domestic violence homicide data is limited and does not accurately capture the magnitude of domestic violence fatalities in the United States. While the FBI and the CDC both have databases that track homicides, states are not required to report these statistics to the federal government, and the data they report is often incomplete. In 2014, for example, only 18 states reported violent death data to the CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)72 and the perpetrator’s identity was missing in one third of the homicides reported in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s Supplemental Homicide Reports, either because the crime was unsolved or the data was incomplete.73 Notably, not all states have data in the FBI’s UCR.

Not only does the quality of data on domestic violence homicide vary by state, but the definitions of domestic violence homicide also vary by state. These gaps make it challenging to understand the full scope of domestic violence nationally. Despite this limitation, some states have established legislation requiring the collection and dissemination of domestic violence homicides. Understanding the full scope of domestic violence at the national, state, and local level is imperative in order to develop and implement effective domestic violence prevention strategies.

To learn more about domestic violence homicides in each state, visit www.DisarmDV.org and explore each state’s “By the Numbers” section.

Gaps in federal and state law

Despite the clear risks of firearm access and domestic violence, state and federal laws still make it far too easy for abusers to obtain and retain guns.

Federal law

• Federal law prohibits the purchase and possession of firearms by individuals convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence.75 Many, but not all, states mirror this prohibition.76
• Federal law does not require the removal of guns that abusers already possess when they become prohibited. Instead, states establish their own removal processes. However, not all states have mandated removal of guns, leaving many opportunities for abusers to keep their guns. Some states require abusers to surrender their firearms within a certain timeframe while other states seize guns from respondents. A third option, the hybrid option, results in seizing firearms only after an abuser has failed to surrender them.
• While guns can be removed from abusive spouses in some states, they often cannot be removed from an abusive dating partner unless the victim has children with or has cohabitated with the abuser. This gap in legal protection — which also applies to the purchase and possession of guns — is colloquially known as “the dating partner loophole.”
• Current federal law does not prohibit domestic abusers with misdemeanor stalking convictions from purchasing or possessing firearms even though the data shows that stalking is a risk factor for femicide and attempted femicide.77 One study found that stalking was very prevalent in the year leading up to a domestic violence homicide or attempted homicide. Specifically, 76% of femicide victims and 85% of attempted femicide victims experienced stalking in the 12 months leading up to their homicide or homicide attempt.78
• Federal law does not prohibit people subject to temporary domestic violence protective orders from buying and possessing guns.79

State law

• Some states prohibit people who are subject to temporary domestic violence protective orders from purchasing or possessing guns or allowing judges to prohibit purchase or possession of guns by such individuals, but some states maintain this loophole in the law.80 Temporary orders are often the first step in the domestic violence protective order process, highlighting the immediate danger the victim faces. These orders are often issued without notice to the respondent because of the immediate danger a victim faces. As such, it is critical to make these temporary orders gun prohibitory.
• While federal law prohibits people subject to final domestic violence protective orders from buying and possessing guns, some states do not.

Preventing Domestic Violence

We have the potential to protect domestic violence through policies, programs, and
interventions.81

Policy

It is critical that we strengthen federal and state laws related to domestic violence and guns. Research shows that policies that prevent domestic abusers from accessing guns are associated with reductions in intimate partner homicide.82

In order to prevent domestic violence, we must focus on both individuals with histories of domestic violence and individuals with overall violent behaviors. Research shows that domestic violence offenders often have criminal histories and may not have been convicted of crimes of domestic violence.83 As such, firearm prohibitions aimed only at people with domestic violence convictions will allow a number of domestic abusers to remain armed. By passing firearm prohibitions policies focused on anyone with a violent misdemeanor conviction, we can save lives.84

• Policies that prevent abusers from accessing guns have been shown to reduce intimate partner homicides by as much as 25%.85
• A domestic violence protective order (DVPO)86 is an order issued by a court to protect victims of abuse. When laws prohibit firearm purchase and possession by and require firearm removal from people subject to domestic violence protective orders (including ex parte orders), and when they cover dating partners, there are significant reductions in both intimate partner homicide and intimate partner homicide by firearm.87
  • When a domestic violence protective order covers dating partners, not just spouses, there is a 13% reduction in intimate partner homicide.
  • When these laws cover temporary orders, not just permanent court orders, there is also a 13% reduction in intimate partner homicide.
  • Orders that require firearm removal are associated with a 12% reduction in intimate partner homicide.
• Research shows that there is a 23% reduction in rates of intimate partner homicide when individuals convicted of nonspecific violent misdemeanors — not misdemeanors related to domestic violence — are prohibited from accessing firearms.88

While it is critically important to pass strong domestic violence policies, the laws will not be successful if they are not properly implemented. States and or local jurisdictions should establish a multidisciplinary working group(s) responsible for ensuring compliance and addressing challenges as they arise; developing and distributing relevant policies, materials, and training for a wide variety of stakeholders; educating the public; improving storage facilities and record keeping; and strategically evaluating domestic violence laws. States should dedicate adequate resources to ensure proper implementation and effective education of the public about these laws.

Programs and Interventions

Interventions aimed at identifying women facing some form of domestic violence may be effective in preventing intimate partner violence homicides. Many intimate partner violence-related homicide victims experienced some form of violence in the month preceding their death. This presents possible opportunities for intervention, including bystander intervention via training programs such as Green Dot.89

Argument and jealousy are common factors preceding intimate partner violence-related homicides.90 Teaching safe and healthy relationship skills (including communication, and emotional and relationship conflict management) is an evidence-based prevention approach for intimate partner violence.

Additional evidence-based intimate partner violence intervention strategies include: safety planning, crisis intervention, connection to services such as counseling, housing, medical and legal advocacy, access to other community resources, and first responders’ intimate partner violence lethality risk assessments.

Often, first responders, such as law enforcement, have already been involved when a homicide occurs.

• A 2019 study found that, in the three years leading up to an intimate partner homicide, police were in contact with the female victims related to domestic violence in 91% of the cases, with police visiting the victim an average of 5.6 times.91
• For cases in which a domestic violence arrest was made, police visited the femicide victim an average of 6.2 times in the 3 years before their deaths.92

These contacts with the criminal justice system provide critical windows of opportunity for intervention. This intervention could come in the form of a lethality assessment. A lethality assessment, also called a danger assessment, provides a series of questions for law enforcement to ask victims of domestic violence to assess the severity of the situation. Lethality assessments can connect women to life-saving resources, such as a social service provider that can assist with advocacy services, safety planning, or connect the individual with additional services.93,94

Lasting Impacts of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence takes both a human and economic toll, and we have a moral obligation to address it. In addition to the lives lost to domestic violence, countless more are injured. Each injury and death affects countless individuals within the larger community.

Exposure to domestic violence is widespread, and the trauma it inflicts can have lasting impacts on physical and mental health, wellbeing, productivity, development, and happiness. Around 41% of female intimate partner violence survivors and 15% of male intimate partner violence survivors experience physical injuries related to the violence.95

Exposure to domestic violence is associated with:

• Job instability96
• Housing instability97
• Homelessness98
• Posttraumatic stress disorder99,100
• Depression101,102
• Anxiety103
• Chronic pain104
• Digestive issues105
• Trouble sleeping106
• Immune system problems107,108
• Heart problems109,110
• Traumatic brain injury111
• Increased risk of risky alcohol and drug use112
• Increased risk of engaging in risky sexual behaviors113

The economic costs (both direct and indirect) of intimate partner violence are also enormous. Lifetime economic costs associated with intimate partner violence (including medical costs, lost productivity costs, criminal justice fees, and other costs) is $3.6 trillion. Lifetime costs for one victim of intimate partner violence are $103,767 for women and $23,414 for men.114

In addition to the impacts of domestic violence on survivors, there are significant emotional, mental, and social impacts that domestic violence has on children and youth exposed to the violence.115 Exposure or witnessing domestic violence can include auditory and visual exposure, as well as inferring that domestic violence occurred such as when a child or youth witnesses physical injuries or property damage. Even when a child is not physically victimized by domestic violence, lasting difficulties can persist. Exposure to domestic violence can affect a child or youth’s emotional development. Indeed, witnessing domestic violence can leave the same emotional and physical scars as directly experiencing the abuse.116

As Americans, we have a moral obligation to stop the fear, pain, and suffering of domestic violence.

Mass Shootings and domestic violence

Many mass shooters have histories of domestic violence, and domestic violence is considered a risk factor for perpetrating mass shootings.117, 118 Researchers found that in more than two-thirds (68.2%) of mass shootings from 2014-2019, the perpetrator either killed family or intimate partners or the shooter had a history of domestic violence and that DV-related mass shootings were associated with a greater fatality rate. On average, only one in six people survive a DV-related mass shooting compared to one in three people for non-DV mass shootings.119

Another study found that nearly one-third of known mass shooters from 2014-2017 were suspected of domestic violence, many of whom had contact with the justice system for domestic violence.118 Further, more than half of mass shootings (when defined as four or more individuals fatally shot) involve the death of an intimate partner or family member.119 Implementing domestic violence firearm prohibitions can help reduce fatal mass shootings.

To learn more, visit our page on mass shootings.

Recommendations

Expand both federal and state domestic violence firearm prohibitions to reduce abusers’ access to firearms and improve collection and reporting of domestic violence related data.

Guns and domestic violence are a lethal combination. Laws that reduce abusers’ access to firearms are associated with reductions in intimate partner homicide. We recommend policy in the following five areas:

• Domestic violence misdemeanors: People convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence should be prohibited from purchasing and possessing firearms.
• Domestic violence protective orders: People who are subject to domestic violence protective orders, including temporary orders, should be prohibited from purchasing and possessing firearms for the duration of the order.
• Close the dating partner loophole: People convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence committed against current or former dating or sexual partners should be prohibited from purchasing and possessing firearms. People subject to protective orders issued against current or former dating or sexual partners of the petitioner should also be prohibited from purchasing and possessing firearms.
• Stalking: People convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking should be prohibited from purchasing and possessing firearms.
• Firearm removal in cases of domestic violence: Firearms should be temporarily removed from the scene of domestic violence incidents and from people who are subject to domestic violence protective orders of any kind for the duration of the order. Firearms should also be removed from people who are prohibited from purchasing or possessing guns under state or federal law for the duration of the prohibition. Funding should be provided to states and localities to develop and implement firearm removal procedures in domestic violence situations.

In addition to policy, we recommend enhancing data collection and reporting procedures:

• Data collection and reporting: Collection and reporting of data related to domestic violence incidents, including fatalities and the role of firearms, is inconsistent between states. Even the definitions used are not standardized. Inconsistent — or even nonexistent — data makes it difficult to compare states, track changes over time, and fully understand the problem at either the state or national level. While the FBI and the CDC both have databases that track homicides, states are not required to report these statistics to the federal government, and the data they report are often incomplete. Having good data is fundamental to effective prevention. Congress should establish standardized definitions and require states to collect and report data about domestic violence incidents, including fatalities and the role of firearms, on a regular basis.

For more information, visit the Consortium for Risk-Based Firearm Policy’s report on firearm removal in cases of domestic violence and Disarm Domestic Violence.