Florida's Domestic Violence Statistics

In Florida, 120,697 crimes of domestic violence were reported to the police in 2003. In fiscal year 2003-2004, Florida's domestic violence centers responded to 132,629 crisis calls, provided counseling services to 197,787 individuals, and provided emergency shelter to 14,467 individuals, primarily women and children.

Many more survivors of domestic violence are not reporting their abusers to the police or accessing services at domestic violence services due to reasons such as shame, fear, or being prevented from doing so by their abusers. For this reason, we may never know the true extent of abuse in our country and in our state.

Below are links to websites that provide the most current statistics, surveys, and other research sites regarding domestic violence. Please call FCADV at (850)425-2749 for more information about these and other domestic violence statistics.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Domestic Violence Statistics

View official domestic violence crime statistics provided to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement by local law enforcement departments in each of Florida's 67 counties. Statistics include Statewide Domestic Violence Victim Totals by Relationship and by Offense as well as Total Reported Domestic Violence Offenses and Type of Offenses by County.

Please bear in mind that domestic violence crimes are not always reported as such, and thus, may be underrepresented in these statistics.

Florida Department of Children and Families Domestic Violence Center Service Statistics

View domestic violence center outreach and emergency shelter annual statistics for the state of Florida. These data represent the services provided by each of Florida's 40 certified domestic violence centers each fiscal year. This reflects only those clients served by certified domestic violence centers.

National Statistics

The most current national studies on domestic violence suggest that from 22-25% of all women will experience domestic violence at some point during their lives.

Office on Violence Against Women/U.S. Department of Justice Publications

The Office on Violence Against Women offers results of national research reports and publications on violence against women as well as statistical publications, including results of the most recent Violence Against Women Surveys, compiled by the U. S. Office on Violence Against Women and the U.S. Department of Justice.

VAWnet Library

VAWnet Library is an online resource for advocates working to end domestic violence, sexual assault, and other violence in the lives of women and their children.

For additional information, you may want to visit our Economic and Self Sufficiency section, which includes a comprehensive bibliography for several reports connecting domestic violence and poverty/welfare.