"Recognizing the need to better measure both the scope of the problem of intimate partner violence (IPV) as well as resulting economic costsÑin particular, those related to health careÑCongress funded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct a study to obtain national estimates of the occurrence of IPV-related injuries, to estimate their costs to the health care system, and to recommend strategies to prevent IPV and its consequences." The resulting report, Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in the United States: describes briefly the development of the requested study; presents findings for the estimated incidence, prevalence, and costs of nonfatal and fatal IPV; identifies future research needs; and highlights CDC's research priorities for IPV prevention.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) in 2003 for this report that provides the clearest picture to date of the economic consequences of domestic violence. However, it should be noted that because of data limitations such as the survey timeframe and measurement tools, the costs presented in the report likely underestimate the economic burden of IPV in the United States.
