1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence. Here’s why most won't report it

Nearly one in four women in the United States will experience severe physical violence from an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Yet the majority of domestic violence incidents are never reported to police, a gap researchers have been documenting for decades. Below, WSM Law, a family law firm that represents women in divorce and custody cases across several states, examines why domestic violence victims often don’t report the incidents.

The Scope of the Problem

The CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, the primary tool researchers use to track this issue nationally, found that nearly 1 in 4 women experience physical violence by an intimate partner during their lifetime. When the definition expands to include sexual violence and stalking, more than 1 in 3 women, nearly 43.5 million, report experiencing at least one of these forms of abuse from a partner at some point in their lives.

The violence often starts young. The CDC's data shows that about 16 million women first experienced intimate partner violence before age 18, and most female victims had their first experience with an abusive partner before age 25.

Reporting Rates Fall Far Short of Prevalence

Despite how common intimate partner violence is, most incidents never reach a police report. Bureau of Justice Statistics data drawn from the National Crime Victimization Survey found that between 2006 and 2015, police were notified in just over half, 56%, of the estimated 1.3 million nonfatal domestic violence victimizations occurring each year. That figure includes violence from intimate partners, immediate family members, and other relatives, meaning the reporting rate for intimate partner violence specifically is likely close to or below that average.

In other words, for every two domestic violence incidents that happen, roughly one goes entirely unreported to law enforcement.

Why Victims Don't Come Forward

The Bureau of Justice Statistics has also tracked the reasons victims give for not reporting. In its analysis covering the early 2000s, the most frequently cited reason among female victims, at 22%, was viewing the incident as a private or personal matter rather than a criminal one. Other significant reasons included protecting the offender, cited by 14% of female victims, and fear of reprisal, cited by 12%. A smaller share, 8%, said they believed police would not do anything to help.

Across multiple studies, the research suggests that the decision not to report rarely reflects doubt that the abuse happened. Instead, it reflects a complex set of calculations involving safety, relationships, and trust in the systems meant to help.

The Safety Calculation

Fear of retaliation is one of the most consistently cited barriers to reporting, and it reflects a real risk. Leaving an abusive relationship, or taking steps that could be seen as escalating the situation, such as involving police, is a period that researchers and advocates widely recognize as one of the most dangerous points in an abusive relationship. A victim weighing whether to report is often weighing that immediate risk against an uncertain outcome from the legal system.

Financial and Family Ties Complicate the Decision

Beyond safety, many victims face practical barriers tied to shared finances, housing, or children. A victim who is financially dependent on an abusive partner may have few immediate options if reporting leads to the partner's arrest or loss of income. Shared children add another layer of complexity, particularly when a victim is uncertain how a report might affect future custody arrangements or when she fears the abuser retaliating through the family court system rather than directly.

Distrust in the System Itself

The belief that police "would not do anything" reflects another documented barrier: distrust that reporting will lead to meaningful protection. This distrust is often shaped by prior experience, either personal or within a victim's community, with the way law enforcement or courts have handled similar cases. For some victims, particularly those from communities with a history of strained relationships with law enforcement, this distrust is an additional and significant deterrent.

Closing the Gap Between Prevalence and Protection

Advocates and researchers generally agree that closing the gap between how common intimate partner violence is and how often it gets reported requires addressing more than awareness. It requires practical resources, such as safe housing options, financial support, and legal protections that do not depend entirely on a police report to take effect. Protective orders, for example, can often be pursued through civil courts independent of a criminal complaint, giving victims a legal option that does not require the same level of police involvement.

WSM Law notes that many of the women it works with are facing family court and safety concerns simultaneously, and that legal protections exist specifically for situations where reporting to police does not feel like a safe or viable first step.

The data shows intimate partner violence affects a significant share of women in the United States. The reporting gap suggests that for many of them, the barriers to coming forward are not about disbelief in their own experience, but about a difficult and often rational calculation of safety, resources, and trust.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 or through thehotline.org.

This story was produced by WSM Law and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.