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Domestic Violence Facts & Statistics

Colorado Domestic Violence Service Statistics

In 2007, the State of Colorado's Domestic Abuse Assistance Program (DAAP) provided funding to 41 domestic abuse service programs. Those programs report providing the following services:

Hotline Call Support:

• Answered 38,863 emergency crisis intervention phone calls.

Shelter:

• Provided 96,172 nights of shelter to 5,117 individuals. Compared to 2006, this is an increase of 8.79% in the number of shelter nights provided.
• The average number of nights an individual resides in shelter to increase by 15.6% from 42 nights in 2006 to 50 nights in 2007. Programs report that more individuals request shelter for longer periods of time due to the lack of available of affordable housing in many communities.
• Children, age 18 and under, comprised nearly half (43%) of the shelter residents in 2007.
• In 2007, 6,341 individuals were turned away from shelters in Colorado due to a lack of capacity, a 7% increase from 2006, where 5,886 individuals were turned away.

Counseling to Shelter Residents:

• Provided 74,218 individual counseling sessions to 3,898 shelter residents, an average of 19 sessions per resident.
• Provided 29,911 group counseling sessions to 3,586 shelter residents, an average of 8 sessions per resident.
• Provided advocacy 40,621 times to 3,982 shelter residents, an average of 10 times per resident.

Counseling to Community Members:

• Provided individual and group counseling and advocacy/supportive services to 19,132 individuals not residing in shelter.
• Provided 29,521 sessions of individual counseling to 7,128 victims.
• Provided 24,732 sessions of group counseling to 3,597 victims.
• Provided advocacy 55,274 times to 15,052 victims.

Review the Final 2007 Domestic Violence Service Statistics of the Domestic Abuse Assistance Program.

Review the Final 2006 Domestic Violence Service Statistics of the Domestic Abuse Assistance Program.

Review the Final 2005 Domestic Violence Service Statistics of the Domestic Abuse Assistance Program.

National and Statewide Domestic Violence Services Census

On September 17th, 2008, the National Network Against Domestic Violence (NNEDV) and programs across the county that provide services to domestic abuse victims participated in the National Census of Domestic Violence Services. This Census Day allows NNEDV to collect anonymous, unduplicated, and non-invasive information about the number of victims served and the types of services provided in one 24-hour period.

In Colorado, 41 out of 44 local domestic abuse service programs participated in the NNEDV Census Day. While this is 93% of all programs, and thus the full numbers of victims served and services provided on that day remain unknown, those 41 participating programs reported:

• 1,028 victims of domestic violence were served in one day.
• 574 domestic violence victims found respite in shelter or transitional housing.
• 454 adults and children received services such as individual counseling, legal advocacy and children's support groups.
• 131 requests for services went unmet. Insufficient resources prevented programs from meeting all the need.

Review the Colorado summary from the NNEDV's 2008 National Census on Domestic Violence Services.

Colorado Domestic Abuse Fatality Statistics

In Colorado in 2008, at least 33 people died in 24 fatal incidents related to domestic abuse. Those incidents included:

• 17 intimate partners murdered (16 female victims were killed by a male partner, and 1 male victim was killed by a female partner).
• 7 children murdered.
• 1 friend, 1 relative, and 1 dating partner of a victim murdered.
• 4 perpetrator suicides.
• 2 perpetrators killed by law enforcement.

The victims ranged in age from 21 months old to 64 years old, whereas the offenders ranged in age from 18 to 68. The most frequent cause of death was use of a firearm, followed by stabbing.

Review the Denver Metro Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee / Denver Domestic Violence Coordinating Council's 2008 Summary

Review the full 2007 Colorado Fatality Report from Project Safeguard

Review Project Safeguard's 2006 Colorado Fatality Report "Terrorism in the Home"

Review the full 2005 Colorado Fatality Report from Project Safeguard

Colorado Domestic Abuse Statistics

[Download a PDF version of these and other Colorado statistics]

• In 2007, 6,341 individuals were turned away from shelters in Colorado due to a lack of capacity, a 7% increase from 2006, where 5,886 individuals were turned away and a 60% increase compared to 2005, during which 2,537 victims were turned away.
  Source: Colorado Department of Human Services, Domestic Abuse Assistance Program, "2007 Annual Report."
• Victims of abuse often report that they return to an abusive situation because they cannot find affordable long-term housing in Colorado.
  Source: Colorado Department of Human Services, Domestic Abuse Assistance Program, "2007 Annual Report."
• In 2007, 17,216 criminal cases filed in Colorado County Courts were classified as domestic violence cases (Does not include municipal or felony case filings).
  Source: Colorado State Court Administrator's Office, "Colorado Judicial Branch Annual Statistical Reports: Misdemeanor Filings by Type of Case for FY 2007."
• Almost half of all women murdered in Colorado are killed by an intimate partner.
  Source: Project Safeguard, "2007 Fatality Review Program Report." Denver, Colorado 2007
• 19 children were killed during an incident of domestic violence from 2000 to 2007.
  Source: Project Safeguard, "2007 Fatality Review Program Report." Denver, Colorado 2007
• Nearly half (43% or 2,165) the residents in shelter during 2007 were children, age 18 and under.
  Source: Colorado Department of Human Services, Domestic Abuse Assistance Program, "2007 Annual Report."

National Domestic Abuse Statistics

[Download a PDF version of these and other National statistics]

• The National Crime Victimization Survey found that 85% of intimate partner violence victims were women.
  Source: Rennision. Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, DOJ (US). 2003.
• Nearly 5.3 million intimate partner victimizations occur each year among U.S. women ages 18 and older. This violence results in nearly 2 million injuries and nearly 1,300 deaths.
  Source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003.
• In a household survey, it was found that pregnant women are 60.6% more likely to be beaten than women who are not pregnant. Violence is cited as a pregnancy complication more often than diabetes, hypertension or any other serious complication.
  Source: Battering and Pregnancy. Midwife Today. 1998.
• If stalking involves intimate partners, the average duration of stalking is 2.2 years. Of intimate partner stalkers, 73% threatened their victims with physical violence, and almost 43% of victims experienced one or more violent incident by their stalker.
  Source: Tjaden & Thoennes. Stalking in America: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey. Office of Justice Programs, DOJ (US); 1998.
• Immigrant women often encounter additional obstacles to attaining safety. Those obstacles may include language and cultural differences between themselves and potential helpers, and immigration concerns.
  Source: Orloff et al., With No Place to Turn: Improving Advocacy for Battered Immigrant Women, Family Law Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, 313. 1995.
• Victims of intimate partner violence lose a total of nearly 8 million days of paid work-the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs-and nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity each year as a result of the abuse.
  Source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003.