Facts and Statistics | Center for Violence and Injury Prevention

In 2018, there were 89 reported domestic violence-related homicides, comprising 11.47% of all Missouri homicides (Missouri State Highway Patrol, 2019).
In 2018, 45,548 incidents of domestic violence were reported to Missouri law enforcement, representing a 10.3% increase between 2014 and 2018 (Missouri State Highway Patrol, 2019).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), dating violence includes sexual, physical, psychological and emotional abuse that includes stalking. In 2021, about 8% and 10% of students nationwide reported physical or sexual dating violence, respectively, in the past 12 months (CDC, 2025).
In a diverse research study of 172 LGBT youth, 40% had experienced intimate partner violence in the last four years (Reuter et al., 2017).

Over half of woman and nearly one in three men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact in their lifetimes (Basile et al., 2022; CDC, 2024).
One in three women and one in six men have experienced stalking in their lifetime (Smith, 2022; CDC, 2024).
Almost half of female rape victims reported being raped before age 18 (Basile et al., 2022; CDC, 2024)

In 2023, 7.4 per 1,000 children experienced abuse or neglect (the Children’s Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services, 2023).
In 2024, Missouri’s rate of investigated reports into child maltreatment and neglect were 64,497, a 6.5% annual increase (Missouri Department of Social Services, 2024).
The leading cause of death for people between the ages of 1-44 is unintentional injuries (CDC, 2023).

Suicide is a leading cause of death (National Vital Statistics System, 2024; CDC, 2025):

2nd leading cause among people 10 to 34 years of age
4th leading cause among people 35 to 54 years of age
8th leading cause among people 55 to 64 years of age
The rate of suicide among adolescents and young adults aged 10 to 19 in Missouri was 9.1 per 100,000 persons in 2021, making it the 3rd leading cause of death for this age group. The percent of Missouri high school students who say they have made a plan about how they will commit suicide has increased from 12.1% in 2013 to 16.8% in 2021 (Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, 2021).