• Between January 1, 1997 and June 30, 2006, at least 359 people were killed by domestic violence abusers in Washington state. The homicide victims included domestic violence victims, their friends, family members, new partners and intervening law enforcement officers. The majority of the homicide victims, 62 percent, were women killed by their current or former husband or boyfriend.
• In 2005, 50 percent of women who were murdered in Washington state were killed by their current or former husband or boyfriend.
• Homicide-suicides comprised a significant portion of domestic violence homicides. Almost a third of the 320 abusers who committed homicides between January 1, 1997 and June 30, 2006, committed homicide-suicides. An additional 12 abusers killed themselves after attempting homicide.
• Washington police departments responded to 49,980 domestic violence calls in 2006. These included domestic violence homicides, rapes, assaults, robberies and arsons.
• Victims of domestic violence reported 12,267 violations of protection orders in 2006.
• In Washington state fiscal year 2006, domestic violence programs provided emergency shelter to a total of 6,147 domestic violence victims and their children. Because of space and funding limitations, domestic violence programs had to refuse 36,522 requests for shelter.
• Washington state domestic violence programs served 19,456 adults and children in 2006. Services provided include: support groups, help obtaining protection orders, legal advocacy, shelter and individual counseling.
• The Washington state domestic violence hotline answered 22,370 calls in 2006.
• Women are the victims of intimate violence significantly more often than men. In 2001, women accounted for 85 percent of the victims of intimate partner violence and men accounted for approximately 15 percent of the victims nationally.
Information provided by the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence
