October 1st marks the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a month dedicated to bringing attention to domestic violence and supporting efforts to prevent it. Domestic violence can include physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression. These forms of violence affect millions of Americans each year, with perpetrators often being current or former intimate partners. More than one in three U.S. women experience a form of domestic violence in their lifetime.
On September 16, 2026, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) released a report titled, “When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2024 Homicide Data.” In 2024, nearly 2,400 women were killed by men, and of these, 86.9% knew their killer—nearly nine out of 10. Firearms were used in 63.4% of these homicides.
Albeit widespread, affecting women across racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic status, domestic violence disproportionately affects historically marginalized groups. Although Black women only make up 14.1% of the women in the United States, 30.3% of women killed by men in single victim/single offender incidents were Black.
Between January 2019 and April 2021, an estimated 7.5 million Americans purchased firearms for the first time. Congruently, intimate partner violence (IPV) related homicides rose dramatically from 2014 to 2020, with a 58% increase in deaths. When an abusive partner has access to a gun, a domestic violence victim is five times more likely to be killed.
Similar to intimate partner violence, firearm violence is a gendered issue. Men are significantly more likely to purchase firearms than women, with the majority of gun owners being white men.
VPC’s Government Affairs Director Kristen Rand states, “The proliferation of guns only exacerbates the problem, escalating domestic abuse into domestic homicides.”
The connection between firearms and intimate partner violence has also shaped federal law. The Gun Control Act of 1968 was the first legislation linking IPV and gun violence, barring firearm possession to convicted domestic violence felons. However, it was not until the passage of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 in which federal lawmakers began taking these dangers seriously and putting more measures in place to begin the actual enforcement and prosecution of these felons.
However, federal protections have not covered every abusive relationship. The 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act expanded the federal firearm prohibition to certain people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence against dating partners who do not live with them or share a child. The provision is subject to several limitations, including a five-year restoration period for certain first-time dating-partner convictions. These gaps matter.
For far too long, gun violence and domestic violence has been dismissed as two separate issues. They must be examined as two interwoven public health crises. A lack of gun reform harms everyone, but it is women who bear the brunt of that impact. Efforts to address firearm violence must center the voices of women, particularly Black women and other communities disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence. Gun policy makers have historically excluded these voices, and while there has been major strides to improve the current legislation, there is still a long way to go.
If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence, help is available 24/7. Contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.