Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2026 With Survivors, Always

Oct 19

While October is the designated month to raise awareness about domestic violence, let’s not forget it happens all the time. There is just more focus on it this time of year.

Domestic violence is a serious problem in our country.

In the 12 months preceding the most recent NISVS survey, approximately 6.7 million women and 2.8 million men experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking from an intimate partner in the U.S.

Source: Zhang Kudon, H., Zhu, S., Chen, B., Breiding, M. J., Leemis, R. W., Zhang, X., Schwank, A., & Basile, K. C. (2026). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2023/2024 intimate partner violence data brief. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. https://www.cdc.gov/nisvs/media/pdfs/intimatepartnerviolence-brief.pdf

Although anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, women are disproportionally affected.

More than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men in the U.S. experience contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

In just one day in 2025, the 20 Annual Domestic Violence Counts Report found that domestic violence programs served more than 84,000 victims of domestic violence across the United States.

Source: National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2026). 20th annual domestic violence counts report. https://nnedv.org/resources-library/20th-annual-domestic

According to the latest NISVS data, women are more likely to experience at least one IPV-related impact in their lifetime, such as being physically injured, missing work or school, being concerned for their safety, needing medical care, or filing a police report.