What is violence between

intimates?

Violence between intimates includes

those murders, rapes, robberies, 

or assaults committed by spouses, 

ex-spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends.

In this report, intimates are distinguished from  other relatives (parent, child, sibling, 

grandparent, in-law, cousin)

acquaintances (friend, someone

known)

strangers.

Violence between intimates is difficult

to measure; it often occurs in private,

and victims are often reluctant to 

report incidents to anyone because 

of shame or fear of reprisal. 

How many people are victims 

of nonfatal violence committed 

by intimates?

According to an analysis of the 

National Crime Victimization Survey

(NCVS) from 1987-91, intimates 

commit an annual average of 621,015

rapes, robberies or assaults representing over 13% of all of these violent

victimizations. 

In the NCVS in 1992, 51% of the victims of intimate violence were attacked

by boyfriends or girlfriends, 34% were

attacked by spouses, and 15% were

attacked by ex-spouses. In 1992,

54% of the general population age 12

and over were married, 30% were

never married, 10% were divorced,

and 7% were widowed.

Most violence between intimates is 

assault: the intentional inflicting of injury on another person. In 1992, 81%

of the violent victimizations committed

by spouses and ex-spouses were 

assaults. The remainder were rapes

and robberies, which also may have 

involved assault.

How many murders are committed

by intimates?

According to the FBI's Crime in the

U.S, 22,540 murders were committed

nationwide in 1992. The relationship

between the victims and the offender

was known in 61% of these murders

and unknown in 39%. About 15% 

of the murders where the relationship 

between the victim and the assailant

was known involved a victim described

in police records as an intimate

(spouse, ex-spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend) of the killer. (See methodological note

on page 9 for further information about these

data.) 

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Selected Findings 

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

November 1994, NCJ-149259

Violence between Intimates

This report summarizes the following

Department of Justice statistics about

violence between intimates:

 The National Crime Victimization

Survey (NCVS) produces estimates of

violence that victims perceive to be

crimes and are willing and able to report to survey interviewers. Violent

crimes included in the NCVS are rape,

robbery, and assault. (Murder is not

measured because of the inability to

question the victims.) 

 Data about murder are from two

sources: the FBI's Supplemental

Homicide Report from the Uniform

Crime Reports (UCR) program and a

Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)

study of 1988 murder cases from

prosecutors' files in large urban

counties.

 Information on police policies and

units for domestic violence is from the

Law Enforcement Management and

Administrative Statistics survey

(LEMAS).

 Information about confined violent 

offenders was collected in the 1989

Survey of Inmates in Local Jails and

the 1991 Survey of Inmates in State 

Correctional Facilities.

Sources of the information in this report are listed on page 9. Additional

detail and methodological explanations about each of these datasets are

contained in the publications listed.

Domestic violence
Of those murders where the relationship between the victim and the killer

was known, about 10% involved the

killing of a spouse or ex-spouse and

nearly 6% involved the killing of a boyfriend or girlfriend. 

Females are more likely than 

males to be victims of violence 

by intimates 

Annually, compared to males, females

experienced over 10 times as many incidents of violence by an intimate. On

average each year, women experienced over 572,000 violent victimizations committed by an intimate,

compared to approximately 49,000 

incidents committed against men.

Women are much less likely than men

to become victims of violent crime 

in general, but they are more likely

than men to be victimized by intimates,

such as husbands or boyfriends. Men

are more likely than women to be 

victims of violence perpetrated by 

acquaintances or strangers.

 

Average annual rate per 1,000 population 

of single-offender violent victimizations, 1987-91

Victim-offender

relationship

Sex of victim

Female Male 

Intimate 5.0 .5

Other relative 1.0 .7

Acquaintance 8.0 13.0

Stranger 5.0 12.0

Source: BJS, Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report, 1994

Women were more likely to be raped

or assaulted by an acquaintance than

by an intimate, another relative, or a

stranger. Robbery was the only nonfatal crime in which women were more

likely to be victimized by strangers

rather than intimates, other family

members, or acquaintances. 

In over 90% of the violence by intimates recorded in the NCVS from

1987-91, the victim was female.

An estimated 1,432 females were

killed by intimates in 1992 according 

to the FBI's Crime in the U.S. Female

victims represented 70% of the intimate murder victims. About a third of

all female murder victims over age 14

were killed by an intimate compared to

4% of male murder victims. The

wives-to-husbands ratio for spousal

murder differs for blacks and whites:

59% of black victims of spousal murder

were wives while 74% of white victims

were wives.

How many female victims 

of intimate violence experienced 

repeated victimizations? 

About 1 in 5 females victimized by their

spouse or ex-spouse reported to the

NCVS that they had been a victim of a

series of 3 or more assaults in the last

6 months that were so similar that they

could not distinguish one from another.

For assaults in general in 1992, fewer

than 1 in 10 victimizations involved this

type of victimization.

2 Violence between Intimates

Race

White and black women had equivalent rates of violence committed by 

intimates and other relatives (about 

5 per 1,000 persons). 

Ethnicity

Hispanic and non-Hispanic females

had about the same rate of violence

attributable to intimates, 6 per 1,000

persons. 

Age

Women age 20 to 34 had the highest

rates of violent victimization attributable to intimates (16 per 1,000 persons) of any age group.

Education

Women who graduated from college

had the lowest rates of violence attributable to intimates (3 per 1,000 persons) compared to women with less

than a high school education (5 per

1,000), high school graduates, 

(6 per 1,000) or women with some 

college (6 per 1,000)

Income

Women with family incomes under

$9,999 had the highest rates of violence attributable to an intimate (11

per 1,000 persons) and those with

family incomes over $30,000 had 

the lowest rates (2 per 1,000).

Marital status

Divorced or separated women had

higher rates of violence by intimates

(16 per 1,000 persons) than women

who never married (7 per 1,000) or 

married women (1.5 per 1,000).

Location of residence

Women living in central cities, suburban areas and rural locations experienced similar rates of violence

committed by intimates.

Source: BJS, Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report, 1994

What are the characteristics of women violently victimized by intimates?

Average annual number of single-offender 

violent victimizations, 1987-91

Victim-offender

relationship

Sex of victim

Female Male 

Intimate 572,032 48,983

Other relative 117,201 75,587

Acquaintance 796,067 1,268,506

Stranger 571,114 1,182,307

Source: BJS, Violence Against Women: A National Crime Victimization Survey Report, 1994

Victim-offender 

relationship 

Percent of all victims

who were female 

Intimate

Spouse 93% 

Boyfriend/girlfriend 91

Ex-spouse 89

Other relatives

Child 78

Brother/sister 59

Other relative 57

Parent 52

Unspecified 28

Other known offender 38

Stranger 32

Source: Highlights from 20 Years of Surveying

Crime Victims: The National Crime Victimization

Survey, 1973-92, 1993
 Violence between Intimates 3

During the past five years, rates 

of intimate rapes, robberies and 

assaults for both male and female

victims have been constant

According to the NCVS between 1987

and 1992, the rate of violent victimizations committed by intimates varied little from the average annual rate of 5

per 1,000 for females and 0.5 per

1,000 for males. The proportion of all

violence committed by intimates was

also consistent during the period:

about 27% of all violence against 

females and about 2% of all violence

against males.

Note: The numbers from NCVS presented here

do not show a statistically significant trend. 

 

Improvements to the NCVS will

better measure intimate violence

In the mid-1970's the National Academy of Sciences evaluated the NCVS

for accuracy and usefulness. While

the survey was found to be an effective instrument for measuring crime,

reviewers identified aspects of the

methodology and scope of the NCVS

that could be improved. Many of the

recommendations resulted in improvements to the measurement of domestic

violence. 

Within the categories of violent crime

measured by the NCVS, the redesign

will produce fuller reporting of those incidents that involved intimates or other

family members.

The redesigned questionnaire was implemented into 100% of the sample in

June 1993 and an initial release of the

data was made at the end of October,

1994. Regular processing of the

NCVS data results in a release of the

analysis of the detailed variables including victim-offender relationship

several months after the initial release.

Therefore, no data from the redesign

are included in this report.

Additional information about the redesign of the NCVS and the changes in

domestic violence questions is presented on page 10.

Number 

of singleoffender 

victimizations

by intimates

Rate per 

1,000 

population

Percent of all

victimizations

committed 

by intimates

Male 

 victims

 1987 31,685 0.3 1.6%

 1988 55,877 0.6 2.1

 1989 52,816 0.5 2.0

 1990 26,737 0.2 1.1

 1991 62,004 0.6 2.2

 1992 49,038 0.5 2.2

Female 

 victims

 1987 405,640 4.0 27.0%

 1988 585,261 5.5 26.6

 1989 586,137 5.6 28.1

 1990 531,179 5.0 26.9

 1991 585,385 5.5 27.4

 1992 593,546 5.5 27.4

What are the trends in violence between intimates?

The murder rates for both male and female intimates have declined;

the rate for males dropped the most, falling in half from 1977 to 1992

Source: FBI, Crime in the U.S., 1977-92 and U.S. Population Estimates from the 

U.S. Bureau of the Census. See page 9 of this report for the data points.

1977 1982 1987 1992

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Number of intimate murders per 100,000 persons age 16 and over

Wives, ex-wives, girlfriends

Husbands, 

ex-husbands, 

boyfriends

During the last 15 years 

 The ratio of male to female victims of intimate murder fell 

In 1977, 54% of the murder victims

who were killed by intimates were 

female. By 1992, the ratio of female

to male victims had changed, with

70% of the victims being female.

In other words the number of male victims fell from 1,185 in 1977 to 657 in

1992 and the number of female victims increased from 1,396 to 1,510 

during the same period.

 Murder rates of young black females killed by intimates declined

For black female victims of intimate

murder age 18-34, the rate fell from

8.4 per 100,000 in 1977 to 6 per

100,000 in 1992.

During the same time period the rate

for white females age 18-34 remained

relatively constant (1.4 per 100,000).†

 The ratio of black husbands to black wives killed fell 

In 1977, more black husbands were

killed than black wives. In 1982, the

same pattern prevailed, but by 1992,

fewer black husbands were killed

than black wives.

For whites, wives have consistently

outnumbered husbands as victims of

intimate murder.

†

 James Alan Fox, Domestic Homicide in America: Trends and Patterns 

for 1976-92, unpublished paper, June 23, 1994.
How many victims of intimate 

violence face an armed assailant?

For rape, robbery, and assaults recorded in the NCVS, 18% of the

women victimized by intimates faced

an armed offender, compared to 33%

of those victimized by strangers, 

22% by other relatives, or 21% by

acquaintances.

Of the intimate victimizations where

weapons were present, 40% involved

knives or sharp instruments, 34% involved guns, 12% involved blunt objects, and 15% involved other

weapons. Strangers, compared to

other types of offenders, were more

likely to be armed with guns. 

Most murders of intimates are 

committed with firearms

According to the FBI's Supplemental

Homicide Reports in 1992, 62% of the

murder victims known to have been

killed by intimates were shot to death 

(see table on page 10). Firearms were

most frequently used to kill  wives and ex-wives (69%)

 husbands and ex-husbands (61%)

 girlfriends (60%).

Boyfriends were more often killed with

knives (54%) than firearms (41%).

The proportion of murders involving

firearms was smaller for victims killed

by intimates (62%) than for victims

killed by strangers (75%) or acquaintances (69%). For all types of victims

killed by firearms, most are killed by

handguns. Over three-quarters of the

firearms used to kill intimates were

handguns. Wives and girlfriends were

more likely than other types of victims

to have been killed with shotguns. 

Some murder victims are also armed.

In a study of murder cases in large urban counties in 1988, about 15% of the

victims killed by spouses were armed

with a gun, knife, or other weapon. 

How many victims of intimates 

receive a nonfatal injury?

According to the NCVS, about 3% of

the women who were victimized by intimates received serious but nonfatal injuries. This proportion was similar 

to that for women victimized by other

relatives, acquaintances, or strangers. 

About 54% of the women victimized 

by intimates received minor injuries.

Women victimized by other relatives,

acquaintances, or strangers were less

likely to sustain minor injuries.

 

If the attacker was an intimate rather

than a stranger, injured women were

also more likely to  receive medical care (27% vs. 14%) 

 require hospitalization (15% vs. 8%). 

For rape victims, however, the outcome was different: women who were

raped by a stranger received injuries 

in addition to the rape itself more often

than women raped by someone whom

they knew. 

Most women who are victims 

of intimate violence took some 

form of self-protective action 

The NCVS data show that 80% of

women victimized by an intimate took

some form of self-protective action, 

including 40% who took a physical 

action and 40% who took a passive/

verbal action. Of women victimized by

intimates, the proportion who used

self-protective action was about the

same as that for women victimized by 

strangers, acquaintances, or relatives

other than intimates. The proportion 

of women who used physical selfprotection such as fighting back was

higher for women victimized by an intimate than for women victimized by a

stranger (40% vs. 20%). 

Of women who tried to protect themselves against intimate attackers 

 over half believe their self-protective

behavior helped the situation 

 almost a quarter believe their actions

actually made the situation worse.

4 Violence between Intimates

Reporting to the police by females victimized by nonstrangers increased 

to equal the reporting by females victimized by strangers

0%

20%

40%

60%

1973 1979 1986 1992

Stranger

Nonstranger

Percent of victimizations reported 

to the police by female victims of violence

For all violent victimizations  victims of all types report about half 

of their victimizations to the police

 since 1973, the percent reported 

to the police increased.

Female victims of violence  are more likely to report to the police 

than male victims 

 are reporting an increasing proportion of both

stranger and nonstranger crimes. 

Female victims of violence by intimates  report over half of their victimizations to the police

 are about as likely to report to the police as those

female victims who were attacked by other relatives

or strangers. Source: National Crime Victimization Survey, 1973-92
What reasons do women victimized

by intimates give for reporting 

or not reporting the crime to the

police?

According to the NCVS, the most frequent reason female victims of intimates gave for not reporting to police

was that they believed the incident was

a private or personal matter. The reason for not reporting most often given

by females victimized by strangers was

that they felt the incident was minor

and might not be considered a crime.

Almost 6 times as many women victimized by intimates (18%) as those victimized by strangers (3%) said that

they did not report their violent victimization to police because they feared

reprisal from the offender.

Half of the female victims attacked by

intimates said that the most important

reason they reported to police was to

punish the offender and another quarter said that the most important reason

was to stop or prevent this from happening to "me or others." The most

common reasons given for reporting 

by women victimized by nonintimates

were similar to those given by women

victimized by intimates.

How do the police respond to reports of intimate victimization?

Victims reported to the NCVS that 

police respond to over three-quarters

of all reports by females victimized by

intimates, as well as by acquaintances,

other relatives, or strangers by coming

to the crime scene. 

According to victims' perceptions, the

police responded within 5 minutes in 

36% of the victimizations where the offender was a stranger, in 25% where

the offender was an intimate, in 24% 

where the offender was a relative other

than an intimate, and in 24% where the

offender was an acquaintance. 

Police take a report in over two-thirds

of all incidents of violence reported, regardless of the victim-offender relationship. However, the police are more

likely to take a formal report if the

offender is a stranger (77%) rather

than an intimate (69%), other relative

(67%), or acquaintance (70%). 

Police question witnesses in about the

same proportion of violent victimizations of females, regardless of the

victim-offender relationship. Searching

the scene for evidence occurs more often when a stranger rather than an intimate or other known offenders

committed the crime.

How do police agencies deal with

domestic disputes?

According to the 1990 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative

Statistics Survey (LEMAS), 93% of the

large local police agencies (agencies

with more than 100 officers) and 77%

of the sheriffs' departments have written policies concerning domestic disturbances. In addition, 45% of the

large local police agencies and 40% 

of the sheriffs' departments have 

special units to deal with domestic

violence.

As of 1992, 14 States and the District

of Columbia had laws mandating arrest

in crimes of domestic violence.** The

States with mandatory arrest laws include Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii,

Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, and

Wisconsin.

To legally arrest a suspect, police are

required to obtain an arrest warrant

from a judge before arresting a suspect unless they are able to show at

the time of the arrest they had probable cause to believe the suspect had

committed the crime. Warrantless

probable-cause arrests in cases of domestic violence are authorized in 47

States and the District of Columbia.

Most State codes permitting warrantless arrests for domestic violence

crimes also instruct police to inform

victims of certain rights including the

availability of protection orders, shelter

or emergency facilities, and

transportation. 

What are the characteristics 

of defendants accused of killing

their spouse?

In a study of murder cases in large 

urban counties in 1988, of defendants

who killed their spouse  almost 60% were male

 77% were over age 30.

By comparison, of defendants in 

nonfamily murders  93% were male

 65% were under age 30.

Over half of the defendants who killed

their spouse had a prior criminal history. However, they were less likely 

to have a prior criminal history than 

defendants who killed nonfamily members. Also, they were less likely than

nonfamily murder defendants to be 

unemployed (25% vs. 37%) but more

likely to have a history of mental illness

(12% vs. 3%).

Most defendants in spousal murder

cases are convicted

In the study of murder cases in 1988 in

large urban counties, about 80% of the

defendants in spousal murder cases

were convicted or pleaded guilty.

Outcomes of murder cases where the

defendant killed a spouse are similar to

the outcomes of nonfamily murder

cases. 

 Violence between Intimates 5

** Barbara J. Hart, Esq., "State codes on domestic

violence: Analysis, commentary and recommendations," Juvenile & Family Court Journal, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court

Judges, 43:4, 1992.

Case disposition

Percent of murder defendants accused of killing 

 Spouses

Nonfamily

victims

Diverted .6% .7%

Rejected 6.5 8.4

Dismissed 3.5 7.5

Acquitted 6.1 7.6

Insanity acquittal 1.2 .2

Convicted at trial 37.4 33.9

Pleaded guilty 42.1 38.2

Other* 2.5 3.4

*Includes murder defendants who died or

whose individual cases had not been disposed.

Source: BJS, Murder in Families, July 1994.
There are differences in outcomes

of cases where a woman is accused

of killing her husband and those

where a man is accused of killing

his wife

In spousal murder cases in large urban

counties in 1988, women defendants

were more likely than men defendants

to have their cases  diverted, rejected or dismissed (12%

vs. 9%)

 result in an acquittal (13% vs. 1%). 

Of those accused of killing their

spouses  41% of the men and 31% of the

women were convicted at trial

 46% of the men and 38% of the

women pleaded guilty. 

Persons convicted of killing their

spouses were about as likely as

other murderers to be convicted 

on the most serious arrest charge

Of those convicted in large urban

counties in 1988, spousal murderers

were less likely than nonfamily murderers to be convicted of first-degree murder or other types of murder (47% vs.

58%) and more likely to be convicted

of voluntary/nonnegligent manslaughter (43% vs. 29%)

For convicted murderers, the most serious conviction offense was  first-degree murder for 18% of the

women who killed their husbands and

24% of the men who killed their wives

 voluntary/nonnegligent manslaughter

for 54% of the women who killed their

husband and 37% of the men who

killed their wives.

Most convicted murderers are sentenced to a prison term, regardless

of their relationship to the victim

The study of murder cases in large urban counties in 1988 found some sentencing differences between murderers

convicted of killing their spouses and

other murderers:

 Of the men convicted of killing their

wives, 94% were sentenced to prison,

including 15% who were sentenced to

life terms. Women who killed their

husbands were less likely to receive a

prison sentence: 81% were sentenced

to prison, including 8% who received a

life term.

 Spousal murderers were more likely

than nonfamily murderers to be sentenced to probation rather than incarceration (9% vs. 3%). Of the women

convicted of killing their husbands,

16% were sentenced to probation

compared to 5% of the men who killed

their wives.

Of those convicted of spouse 

murders, men receive longer

prison sentences than women 

In large urban counties, the average

prison sentence length on a murder or

nonnegligent manslaughter conviction

(excluding life sentences or the death

penalty) was  17.5 years for men convicted of killing their wives

 6.2 years for women convicted 

of killing their husbands. 

6 Violence between Intimates

Time and place of the murder

Over a third of the victims of spouses

were killed during the day. Comparatively, a quarter of the nonfamily murder victims were killed during the day.

About 86% of victims who were killed

by spouses were murdered at home, 

a proportion similar to other victims of

murder by a family member. About a

fifth of nonfamily murder victims were

killed at home.

Number of victims

Most defendants who murdered their 

spouse killed no one else at the time.

Of the defendants accused of killing 

a spouse, 2% killed more than one

victim. The proportion of defendants

accused of killing more than one victim was 13% when one of the victims

was a parent, 12% when one of the

victims included a child, and 5% when

the victims were unrelated to the

defendant.

Victim involvement

About 23% of the murdered spouses

precipitated the incident by provoking 

the defendant with a deadly weapon, 

a nonlethal weapon, or other physical

contact such as hitting with fists or

pushing. Nonfamily victims were

about as likely to have precipitated 

the incident as spouses.

Alcohol use at the time 

of the murder

Over half of the defendants accused

of murdering their spouse had been

drinking alcohol at the time of the 

offense. Nonfamily murder defendants were more likely to have been

drinking. Also, almost half of the 

victims of spousal murder had been

drinking alcohol at the time of the 

offense, about the same proportion 

as the nonfamily murder victims. 

Time to arrest

Over 62% of the defendants accused

of murdering spouses were arrested

on the day of the crime. About 32% 

of the defendants accused of killing

nonfamily members were arrested 

on the day of the crime. 

What are the characteristics of spousal murder cases in urban areas?

Source: BJS, Murder in Families, Special Report, NCJ-143498, July 1994.
What are the characteristics 

of violent prisoners who 

victimized intimates?

Prisoner

characteristics

Percent of violent State 

prisoners who victimized:

 Intimates Nonintimates

Sex

 Male 90% 97%

 Female 10 3

Age

 24 and under 10% 20%

 25-34 years 41 45

 35-44 years 30 23

 45-54 years 11 8

 55 or older 9 4

Race and

ethnicity

 White 47% 37%

 Black 40 47

 Hispanic 10 14

 Other 3 3

Source: BJS Survey of Inmates in State 

Correctional Facilities, 1991.

The background characteristics 

of prisoners who victimized 

intimates were similar to those 

of prisoners convicted of similar

crimes who victimized nonintimates

In 1991, of violent State prisoners 

who victimized intimates  about half grew up living with 

both parents

 12% had lived in a foster home 

at some time

 22% reported some physical 

or sexual abuse

 31% had parents who abused 

drugs or alcohol

 35% had a family member who

served time in prison or jail.

Female prisoners are more likely

than male prisoners to have harmed

an intimate

In 1991, of the State prisoners incarcerated for violent crimes excluding

robbery, over a quarter of the female

prisoners and a tenth of the male prisoners harmed an intimate. About a

third of the female prisoners incarcerated for homicide killed their husband,

ex-husband, or boyfriend. 

 Violence between Intimates 7

Almost two-thirds of the violent State prisoners who victimized intimates 

were convicted of murder or assault

Prisoner 

relationship 

to the victim

Percent of State prisoners incarcerated for a violent offense Of violent State prisoners who

victimized intimates, 35% were 

convicted of murder and 30% were

convicted of assault.

Total Murder

Manslaughter Kidnaping RapeOther

sexual Robbery Assault

Other

violent

 Total 100% 23% 4% 3% 8% 13% 31% 17% 1%

Intimates 100% 35% 6% 5% 11% 10% 3% 30% 0%

 48% of the violent State prisoners who victimized their spouses

were convicted of murder.

 Spouse or

 ex-spouse 100 48 5 5 6 5 0 31 0

 Boy/girl friend 100 27 7 5 14 13 5 29 0

Other relative 100% 14% 3% 1% 18% 48% 2% 10% 5%

Known 100% 29% 5% 2% 10% 20% 13% 19% 1% Over a quarter of the State 

prisoners who victimized a boyfriend or girlfriend were convicted 

of rape or other sexual assault.

Stranger 100% 21% 3% 3% 4% 4% 48% 16% 0%

Source: BJS Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 1991.

Of the 328,000 State prisoners incarcerated for a violent offense in 1991, 7% had victimized an intimate

Prisoner 

relationship 

to the victim

Percent of State prisoners incarcerated for  Total

violence Murder

Manslaughter Kidnaping 

 Rape

Other

sexual Robbery Assault

Other

violent

 Like the prison population, 7% 

of jail inmates serving sentences 

in 1989 for violent offenses had 

victimized intimates. 

 Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Intimates 7 11 12 14 10 6 1 12 1

 Spouse or

 ex-spouse 3 6 4

5

21 0 50 Most violent State prisoners were

incarcerated for crimes against

strangers.

 Boy/girl friend 4 5 8 9 8 4 1 7 1

Other relative 10 6 7 3 23 36 1 6 49

Known 27 33 35 23 36 41 11 29 30 87% of the State prisoners 

incarcerated for robbery victimized

a stranger.

Stranger 56 50 47 59 31 17 87 53 20

Source: BJS Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 1991. 

Conviction

offense

Percent of violent prisoners

who victimized intimates

Male 

prisoners

Female 

prisoners

 Total* 7% 20%

Homicide 9 32

Robbery 1 1

Sexual assault 7 3

Assault 12 20

Kidnaping 14 11

Source: BJS Survey of Inmates in State 

Correctional Facilities, 1991.
Two-thirds of the State prisoners

incarcerated for harming intimates

had a criminal history

In 1991, of those male prisoners with

violent offenses against intimates  30% were first offenders (persons

who had not been sentenced to probation or incarceration prior to this

conviction)

 34% had a previous conviction for 

a violent offense

 36% had a previous conviction for 

a nonviolent offense.

This pattern was similar to that for 

violent male prisoners with other types

of victims.

In general, violent female prisoners

were more likely than violent male prisoners to be first offenders. For female

prisoners incarcerated for intimate violence the pattern is the same:

 72% were first offenders

 13% had a previous conviction for 

a violent offense

 15% had a previous conviction for 

a nonviolent offense.

Female prisoners with violent offenses

against intimate victims were more

likely than those who victimized others

to be first offenders (72% vs. 52%). 

Sentence lengths of State prisoners

who victimized intimates are similar

to those who attacked nonintimates

In 1991, the average sentence length

for State prisoners convicted of violence other than robbery was about 

20 years. Of those prisoners convicted of violence against intimates  16% were sentenced to 5 years 

or less

 14% were sentenced to 5 to 10 years

 50% were sentenced to 10 or more

years

 20% were sentenced to life terms 

or the death penalty.

The proportion of female prisoners

convicted of violence against intimates

who received life terms or the death

penalty (33%) is higher than that for

male prisoners convicted of violence

against intimates (19%) and that for female prisoners who victimized nonintimates (22%). This difference is

probably attributable to the higher proportion of female prisoners who victimized intimates being convicted of some

form of homicide.

How long do State prisoners 

who victimized intimates expect

to stay in prison?

Most State prisoners are released from

prison eventually: some before their

entire sentence is served through parole or good time provisions, the rest

when their sentences expire. State

prisoners who victimized intimates and

those who victimized others share

similar expectations about how long

they will serve. For State prisoners

who victimized intimates  

 60% expected to serve at least 

5 years. 

 the average time expected was

about 9 years. 

Prisoners'

sex and relationship to

the victim

Percent of violent* State prisoners

who expected to serve 

2 years

or less

More

than

2 to 5 

years

More

than

5 to 10 

years

More

than 

10 years

Total 14% 26% 26% 34%

 Intimate 15 26 30 30

 Others 14 26 26 34

Male 14% 26% 26% 34%

 Intimate 15 27 30 29

 Others 14 26 26 35

Female 18% 26% 30% 26%

 Intimate 15 19 31 36

 Others 19 29 30 23

*Excluding robbery

Source: Survey of Inmates in State 

Correctional Facilities, 1991.

8 Violence between Intimates

What are the differences in offense type between male and female prisoners 

incarcerated for harming an intimate?

Prisoners who were incarcerated for violent offenses 

Inmates' relationship 

to the victim

Number of

prisoners

Percent of prisoners

 Total Murder Manslaughter Kidnaping Rape Other sexual Robbery Assault Other violent

Male prisoners who had:

 Intimate victims 20,170 100% 32% 5% 6% 12% 11% 3% 31% 0%

 Wives and 

 ex-wives 7,431 100 44 4 5 7 6 0 34 0

 Girlfriends 12,739 100 25 6 6 16 14 5 29 0

 All other victims 279,677 100 22 4 2 8 13 33 16 1

Female prisoners who had:

 Intimate victims 2,345 100% 61% 16% 1% 0 1% 1% 20% 1%

 Husbands and 

 ex-husbands 1,308 100 73 10 1 0 0 0 16 0

 Boyfriends 1,037 100 47 22 0 0 1 3 25 1

 All other victims 9,455 100 31 10 1 1 5 30 19 3

Note: Excludes cases where the victim-offender relationship could not be determined.

Source: BJS Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities, 1991.
Sources

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1992, 

NCJ-145125, March 1994.

Highlights from 20 Years of Surveying Crime Victims: The National Crime Victimization Survey,

1973-92, NCJ-144525, October 1993.

Violence Against Women, NCJ-145325, January

1994.

Murder in Families, Special Report, NCJ-143498,

July 1994, and special analyses of the dataset.

Sheriffs' Departments 1990, Bulletin,

NCJ-133283, February 1992.

State and Local Police Departments 1990,

NCJ-133284, February 1992.

Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991,

NCJ-136949, March 1993, and special analyses

of the dataset.

Profile of Jail Inmates, 1989, Special Report,

NCJ-129097, April 1991.

Women in Jail, 1989, Special Report,

NCJ-134732, March 1992.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

Uniform Crime Reports

Crime in the United States, 1977-92 annual.

Special analyses of the Supplementary Homicide

Reports, 1992

Other

James Alan Fox, Domestic Homicide in America: 

Trends and Patterns for 1976-92, unpublished 

paper, June 23, 1994.

Barbara J. Hart, Esq., "State codes on domestic

violence: Analysis, commentary and recommendations," Juvenile & Family Court Journal, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court

Judges, 43:4, 1992

Methodological note

Since nearly 4 in 10 murders reported

by law enforcement have an unknown

victim-offender relationship, it is possible that they may distribute in the

same way as known cases, especially

if the unknown cases disproportionately occur in some jurisdictions due to

poor reporting of this variable. However, it may also be the case that unknown assailants are more likely to be

reported in cases where the victim and

offender have no prior relationship, indicative of a higher prevalence of

stranger murders. In light of the substantial fraction of murders with unknown victim-offender relationships,

readers are urged to use caution in estimating the proportion of murders occurring between intimates.

 Violence between Intimates 9

Trends in the number and rates of homicide victims 

by relationship to the offender, 1977-92

Estimated number of homicide victims 

Rate per 100,000

 population

age 16 and over

Wife or

girlfriend

Husband or

boyfriend

Other

relatives

Other

known Stranger Unknown

Wife or

girlfriend

Husband or

boyfriend

1977 1,396 1,185 1,683 7,113 2,562 5,162 1.6 1.5

1978 1,428 1,095 1,701 6,199 2,640 5,886 1.7 1.4

1979 1,438 1,137 1,674 6,909 2,682 7,574 1.6 1.4

1980 1,498 1,129 1,797 7,304 3,064 8,248 1.7 1.4

1981 1,486 1,149 1,869 7,837 3,491 6,666 1.6 1.4

1982 1,408 1,008 1,807 7,290 3,551 5,904 1.5 1.2

1983 1,487 1,043 1,796 6,681 2,897 5,445 1.6 1.2

1984 1,420 897 1,701 6,542 3,289 4,822 1.5 1.0

1985 1,480 835 1,708 7,099 2,752 5,106 1.6 1.0

1986 1,525 866 1,690 7,708 2,679 6,142 1.6 1.0

1987 1,508 824 1,729 7,377 2,653 5,950 1.6 0.9

1988 1,592 765 1,613 7,383 2,564 6,783 1.6 0.9

1989 1,441 817 1,741 7,568 2,817 7,117 1.5 0.9

1990 1,524 797 1,688 7,946 3,375 8,134 1.5 0.9

1991 1,528 714 1,703 7,567 3,716 9,472 1.5 0.8

1992 1,510 657 1,531 7,550 3,218 9,295 1.5 0.7

Note: Wife or girlfriend and husband or boyfriend includes ex-spouses.

Source : FBI, Crime in the U.S., 1977-92 and U.S. Population Estimates 

from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. 

Marianne W. Zawitz of the BJS staff

prepared this report. Substantial assistance was provided by Patsy

Klaus, Ronet Bachman, Patrick Langan, Helen Graziadei, and Caroline

Wolf Harlow of the BJS staff.

November 1994, NCJ-149259
10 Violence between Intimates

The redesign of the NCVS

In the mid-1970's the National Academy of Sciences evaluated the

NCVS for accuracy and usefulness.

While the survey was found to be an

effective instrument for measuring

crime, reviewers identified aspects of

the methodology and scope of the

NCVS that could be improved. They

proposed research to investigate the

following: 

 an enhanced screening section that

would better stimulate respondents'

recall of victimizations 

 screening questions that would

sharpen the concepts of criminal victimization and diminish the effects of

subjective interpretations of the survey questions 

 additional questions on the nature

and consequences of victimizations

that would yield useful data for

analysis 

 enhanced questions and inquiries

about domestic violence, rape, and

sexual attack to get better estimates

of these hard-to-measure

victimizations.

The redesign has improved the

measurement of domestic violence

Respondents may be reluctant to report acts of domestic violence as

crimes, particularly if the offender is

present during the interview. In addition, victims may not perceive domestic violence as discrete criminal acts

but as a pattern of abuse. Though

these issues still pose measurement

problems, the redesigned screening

section includes explicit questions

about incidents involving family members, friends, and acquaintances.

Screening questions also include multiple references to acts of domestic

violence to encourage respondents to

report such incidents even if they do

not define these acts as crimes. The

survey staff review these reported incidents using standardized definitions

of crimes. Thus, within the categories

of violent crime measured by the

NCVS, the redesign will produce fuller

reporting of those incidents that involved intimates or other family

members.

A comparison of the old and new

questionnaire illustrates the expanded cues that help a respondent recall an incident

New 

2. People often don't think of incidents

committed by someone they know. Did

you have something stolen from you OR

were you attacked or threatened by 

a. Someone at work or school 

b. A neighbor or friend 

c. A relative or family member 

d. Any other person you've met 

 or known? 

3. Did you call the police to report something that happened to YOU which you

thought was a crime? 

4. Did anything happen to you which you

thought was a crime, but did NOT report

to the police? 

Old

2. Did you call the police to report something that happened to YOU which you

thought was a crime?

3. Did anything happen to YOU which

you thought was a crime, but did NOT 

report to the police?

Additional details about the redesign of the National Crime Victimization Survey

Percent of murder victims by relationship to the offender and weapon type, 1992

Percent of murder victims

Firearms

Victim's 

relationship to 

the offender Total

Total

firearms Handguns Rifles Shotguns

Other guns

and not

stated

Knives or

cutting

instruments

Personal weapons (hands,

fists, feet)

Blunt objects

(clubs, hammers, etc.)Other

weapons*

Weapon type

not specified

Total 100% 68% 55% 3% 5% 5% 15% 5% 5% 3% 5%

Intimates total 100 62 48 5 8 1 24 5 3 3 3

Males 100 53 44 3 5 1 40 1 2 1 2

Husband 100 61 50 5 6 1 30 2 3 1 2

Boyfriend 100 41 35 1 4 1 54 1 1 1 2

Females 100 66 50 6 9 1 17 7 4 4 3

Wife 100 69 51 6 10 1 15 5 4 4 3

Girlfriend 100 60 47 4 7 1 19 9 3 5 3

All other relatives 100 45 31 5 8 1 18 18 6 8 4

Other known 100 69 56 4 6 3 18 5 4 2 2

Stranger 100 75 64 3 4 3 11 4 5 2 2

Unknown 100 71 58 1 3 9 10 3 5 3 8

*Poison, pushed or thrown, explosives, fire, narcotics, drowning, strangulation, or asphyxiation.

Source : Special analysis of Supplemental Homicide Report, Uniform Crime Reports, FBI, 1992