A Look at the New Domestic Violence Data Report

In 2022, Senator Whitney Westerfield sponsored Senate Bill 271, a bill that would establish uniform domestic violence data collection, reporting, and utilization requirements. Prior to its passage, state agency groups relied on media stories about domestic violence fatalities as data sources, making it nearly impossible to determine the scope of the problem.

On June 30th, the first statewide Domestic Violence Data Report was released, creating a baseline for which all subsequent data can be measured.

Below are some key takeaways from the report, containing data for calendar year 2022:

More than 35% of men and 45% of women in Kentucky have experienced domestic violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. This is higher than the national average of 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men.
Law enforcement filed 38,708 JC-3’s, or police reports that specifically document information related to intimate partner violence. More than 15,000 of those reports came from the KIPDA district, which includes Jefferson County.
Nearly 20,000 emergency protective orders were entered into the Law Information Network of Kentucky, a system used by Kentucky State Police and other law enforcement agencies to document orders of protection that have been received and/or served. 16,402 of the emergency protective orders were successfully served.
There were 16 attempted murder and 23 murder cases heard in Circuit Court and 24 attempted murder and 27 murder cases heard in District Court.
3,241 adults and children stayed in one of the 15 regional domestic violence shelters and 12,805 people received supportive (non-shelter) services. More than 1,700 of the people who received services were children aged 12 and under and 24 youths between the ages of 13 and 17 received services for dating violence.

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive and coercive behavior used by one partner in an intimate relationship to gain and maintain power and control over the other. As the data in this report shows, anyone can experience it regardless of age, race, gender, or socioeconomic status.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or dating violence, there are supportive services available.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233. You can also chat with an advocate online or text “START” to 88788.
If you have experienced sexual violence, RAINN has a 24-hour national hotline (800-656-4673) and an online chat. They also have a lot of information and resources available for advocates, survivors, and their families.
Teens who are experiencing dating violence, who have questions about relationships, or need support can check out loveisrespect.org. They have a 24-hour hotline (1-866-331-9474), an online chat, or you can text “LOVEIS” to 22522.
A list of domestic violence shelters in Kentucky is available here. Each shelter has a 24-hour hotline and can provide non-shelter services, like court and hospital advocacy. And a list of sexual assault programs in Kentucky and the services they provide is available here.