Why Is Domestic Violence on the Rise? Understanding the Crisis and Criminal Justice Response
| 9 Min Read
Joining the fight against domestic violence is one of the many career pathways available to graduates of the online Master of Arts (M.A.) in Criminal Justice Leadership program from Concordia University, St. Paul (CSP Global). Skills and knowledge developed in the program can prove invaluable as the U.S. finds itself in the middle of a domestic violence crisis.
In the U.S., 12 million people experience domestic violence annually, and 24 people per minute are victims of intimate partner violence. Those numbers have unfortunately been rising in recent years. Following pandemic stay-at-home orders, domestic violence incidents rose 8%.
Post-pandemic, domestic violence rates remain elevated. During the first half of 2025, domestic violence was the only crime rate that rose compared to the previous year, with the number of incidents increasing by an average of 3%. By comparison, the same 30-city study found the murder rate was 17% lower and that there were 10% fewer reported aggravated assaults, 21% fewer gun assaults and 10% fewer sexual assaults.
Law enforcement and the criminal justice system play an important role in addressing this troubling trend. In this guide, you will have a chance to explore how the courts and law enforcement can respond and why the problem exists.
What Is Considered Domestic Violence?
Also called domestic abuse or intimate partner violence (IPV), domestic violence or intimate partner violence is when one person exhibits a pattern of behavior of control over an intimate partner. The vehicle for gaining and maintaining this power is abuse, defined as threats or actions that influence another person. The definition includes any behavior that hurts, humiliates, terrorizes, manipulates, blames, wounds, frightens or injures someone else.
There are many misconceptions about who domestic violence affects, but the truth is that it can happen to anyone across racial, sexual orientation, gender, religious and age-related categories. Domestic abuse can occur within married relationships, when unmarried people cohabitate and while simply dating. People of all education levels and socioeconomic backgrounds can become victims. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for anyone in need of help.
Domestic Abuse Statistics
Research shows that one in three women is a victim of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner. Although intimate partner violence impacts women of all ages, women ages 18 to 34 generally experience the highest rates. Men can also be victims of domestic violence. In fact, 48.8% of men have experienced psychological aggression, compared to 48.4% of women.
Domestic violence has a detrimental impact on the entire family. An estimated 30% to 60% of domestic abuse perpetrators also harm children in the household.
Domestic violence rates do vary across the states. The District of Columbia has the highest overall lifetime incidence rates, with 67.1% of women and 49% of men reportedly experiencing some form of domestic violence during their lives. The number of incidents also fluctuates throughout the year. Typically, surges in domestic violence occur during the summer months.
What Is Abuse?
As previously explained, abuse is committing acts or threatening to commit acts that harm another person. This influence can be emotional, such as frightening them, or physical, such as wounding them. Abuse can take many forms, and by understanding the major types, criminal justice leaders can be better prepared to address domestic abuse. The main types of abuse include:
- Physical abuse: This type of abuse involves the physical use of force that causes a physical injury or has the potential to cause injury. It includes severe abuse that results in harm requiring medical attention and non-severe abuse that doesn’t result in the need for medical attention but is still serious.
- Sexual abuse: Sexual activity committed without the other person’s explicit consent is sexual abuse. It includes unwanted sexual touching, sexual humiliation, forced pregnancy, birth control sabotage and forced intercourse.
- Emotional/psychological Abuse: Called both emotional abuse and psychological abuse, this form of abuse is the systematic undermining of someone’s emotional well-being and self-worth through acts like constant criticism, threats, isolation from others, gaslighting and humiliation. It often occurs before physical abuse.
- Economic/financial abuse: When someone controls a person’s access to financial resources to maintain control, or traps the victim by creating economic dependence, the pattern of behavior is economic or financial abuse. Examples include controlling bank accounts, stealing money, sabotaging credit and impeding employment.
- Stalking: Stalking is the pattern of repeated, unwanted contact, in person or online, that causes fear or safety concerns. It can include physically following someone, surveillance, giving unwanted gifts or messages or monitoring someone’s online activity. One in five women and one in 10 men will experience stalking during their lives.
The warning signs of abuse can be subtle. However, criminal justice leaders can spot them with careful observation. For example, victims may have unexplained injuries, wear inappropriate clothing for the weather, agree with everything the partner says or demonstrate fear of their partners’ reactions. Investigations may uncover reports of the victim being isolated from friends or family, frequently canceling activities, having to constantly report to their partner or exhibiting poor performance at work or school.
What is the Penalty for Domestic Violence?
Penalties for domestic violence vary by jurisdiction. Generally, domestic violence may be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the nature of the incident and how many times it has occurred. Some jurisdictions have systems that include first-degree, second-degree, third-degree and fourth-degree domestic violence charges based on the severity of the incident.
In Minnesota, state law establishes both misdemeanor and felony charges for domestic violence, with more severe penalties for repeat offenders. For example, a second charge of domestic violence within ten years of a previous qualified domestic violence-related offense conviction receives a classification of gross misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for up to 364 days, a fine of up to $3,000, or both. The penalty for a felony domestic violence conviction is imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
Why the Severity Distinction Matters for Criminal Justice Professionals
Classifying domestic violence charges by severity provides an opportunity for early intervention. Early first contact with the criminal justice system can result in an offender receiving rehabilitative services to prevent recidivism. This is essential, as abuse often begins with non-severe incidents and escalates over time.
Severity distinctions also enable the criminal justice system to allocate resources more effectively by establishing different treatment programs and sentences for different severity levels. Drawing distinctions can also make it easier to investigate and prosecute domestic violence. For example, non-severe cases may lack physical evidence. When penalties are less severe for this type of crime, victims may be more willing to participate in prosecution, leading to more successful convictions that can prevent escalation to life-threatening violence.
Why Does Domestic Violence Increase During Pregnancy?
Domestic violence incidents often increase during pregnancy. An estimated 324,000 pregnant women experience physical abuse annually in the United States, and the homicide rate for women ages 15 to 44 who are pregnant or within one year of pregnancy is generally higher.
Economic stress and social instability often accompany pregnancy, raising the risk of abuse. These factors can be further exacerbated if the pregnancy was unplanned, but abuse can also occur during planned pregnancies. In many cases, abuse during pregnancy is the continuation of a cycle. More than two-thirds of women who experienced violence from their partner during pregnancy also reported it occurring before pregnancy.
In addition to physical and emotional harm to the mother, domestic violence during pregnancy is harmful to the baby. When their mothers are victims of intimate partner violence, babies are at an increased risk for preterm birth, low birth weight and death.
What Is the Cost of Domestic Violence?
The monetary costs of domestic violence are staggering. Overall, the lifetime economic burden of intimate partner violence in the U.S. totals $3.6 trillion. The lifetime cost per female victim is $103,767, while the lifetime cost per male victim is $23,414.
The government directly pays for a portion of these costs. Other costs are indirect or paid by the victim and other parties. Sources of domestic violence costs include medical expenses, lost productivity, property damage and expenses related to criminal justice.
What Happens if you Increase Punishment for Domestic Violence Crimes?
Increasing punishment for domestic violence can help reduce the number of occurrences. Generally, sanctions do reduce intimate partner violence incidents. However, local jurisdictions must work together to ensure a uniform response in prosecutions and penalties across counties to make a positive impact.
A concerted effort to address domestic violence by closer enforcement of existing laws has the potential to break the cycle of violence, protecting future victims. Not only does this improve the lives of community members, but it also reduces the economic impact of abuse, freeing up resources for other priorities and initiatives.
The Criminal Justice Response: Role of Law Enforcement and Courts
The criminal justice system has a key role to play in addressing domestic violence training. Leaders in law enforcement can institute mandatory arrest policies to remove abusers from the home, and law enforcement agencies can provide specialized training on recognizing all forms of abuse, including cyberstalking and digital abuse. Specialized prosecution units can support the influx of cases resulting from stricter enforcement, and establishing batterer intervention programs can lower the likelihood of future escalation.
Focusing on the mental and behavioral health of victims must also be a priority. Law enforcement officers can receive training on how to overcome the physical, emotional and technological challenges of collecting evidence of various kinds of abuse, so that the process can be less daunting for victims. Victim advocacy groups within the criminal justice system can also be empowered to provide legal assistance and emotional support to free victims to focus on self-care.
Although the situation is critical, a coordinated community response involving multiple agencies and specializations, led by individuals with advanced criminal justice knowledge and leadership skills can make a difference. If you’re ready to lead the fight against domestic violence, CSP Global’s M.A. in Criminal Justice Leadership online program prepares you to develop evidence-based solutions and create meaningful change in your community. At CSP Global, you’ll study with experienced faculty who understand the complexities of modern criminal justice challenges.