Equity Matters
Cisgender women, transgender and nonbinary people, people with disabilities are more likely to face violence from their partners. Sex workers, especially sex workers of color, also face this risk. About one out of three cisgender women[], and one out of four cisgender men face violence from their partners, often at home. One out of two transgender or nonbinary[] people experience violence from an intimate partner, often at home. Finally, as many as four out of five kids see violence at home.
These numbers are just estimates and can vary. This is because different research studies define violence in different ways and the rates of violence can change over time. Not having a place to live that’s affordable can make it harder for people to leave abusive relationships. For those who leave, shelters often can’t provide long-term housing. They don’t have enough space for everyone. Plus, some landlords won’t rent to people who have experienced violence from a partner. This might make people scared to tell others about the
violence.[] If there’s no stable and affordable place to live, survivors might become homeless. Violence from a partner is one of the main reasons women become homeless.[]
[VH16] American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.). Domestic violence and homelessness. Retrieved January 28, 2022 https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/dvhomelessness032106.pdf
[VH17] Yakubovich, A. R., Bartsch, A., Metheny, N., Gesink, D., & O’Campo, P. (2022). Housing interventions for women experiencing intimate partner violence: A systematic review. The Lancet Public Health, 7(1), e23–e35. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(21)00234-6/fulltext
[VH44] Cisgender means that a person’s gender aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth.
[VH45] Transgender means that a person’s gender differs from the sex assigned to them at birth. Nonbinary means that a person identifies as a gender other than man or woman.