Intimate partner violence incidents reporting by female minorities in the United States

Abstract

The study assessed differences in intimate partner violence (IPV) incident reporting to police by minority and non-minority IPV survivors. Data originated from U.S. Census Bureau’s National Crime Victimization Survey from 2010 to 2020. Of 240,000 interviews, 2,255 female respondents (750 female minorities) answered questions regarding violence perpetrated by a current/former intimate partner. Female minorities were less likely to report their IPV incident than non-Hispanic White females. Non-Hispanic Blacks were more likely to report their IPV incident to the police than Hispanics when the incident was near home. Disparities in reporting may obstruct efforts to protect the rights of the accused and victims. Findings help victim services providers ensure victims are provided support, resources, and care to overcome reporting barriers of IPV.