What Virginia’s 2025 Data Tell Us About Who Causes Harm and How
Data from Virginia’s 70+ Sexual and Domestic Violence Agencies in 2025 confirm that sexual and domestic violence follow recognizable patterns. Perpetrators are overwhelmingly known to their victims, with 97% of domestic violence survivors and 79% of sexual violence survivors knowing the person who harmed them. Violence most often happens in the home. Perpetrators use a predictable set of tactics, including threats, property destruction, strangulation, stalking, and the presence and use of firearms, to establish and maintain control. Naming these patterns clearly is not just a matter of accuracy; it is a matter of accountability. This is the fourth post in our series on the Survivor Advocacy in Virginia 2025 report.
Why Naming Patterns Matter for the Movement
One of the most persistent myths about sexual and domestic violence is that it is unpredictable and can happen to anyone, anywhere, at the hands of anyone. It’s true that no demographic group is immune to violence or to perpetrating it. However, sexual and domestic violence are anything but random. On the contrary, violence typically occurs in specific contexts, and perpetrators overwhelmingly rely on specific tactics and follow patterns that are rooted in power, control, and coercion. Understanding these patterns is essential not only to improve the response survivors receive but, more importantly, to prevent violence before it happens.
The Survivor Advocacy in Virginia 2025 report provides some of the clearest statewide data available on these patterns. Here is what Virginia’s advocates documented in 2025.
Domestic Violence: What Virginia’s Data Show
Who is causing harm
Among domestic violence survivors whose advocates documented perpetrator characteristics in 2025:
- 84% identified the person who harmed them as male
- 90% said the person was between the ages of 25 and 59
The relationship between survivor and perpetrator
- 97% of domestic violence survivors knew their perpetrator
- Of those, 78% described the relationship as a spouse, dating partner, or household member
- 21% described the person as a parent, stepparent, family member, or caretaker
- 1% were identified as acquaintances or “other”
This means that the overwhelming majority of domestic violence survivors live with, love, and/or depend on the person causing them harm. This predicament is precisely what makes leaving both difficult and dangerous.
Where violence happens
- 94% of domestic violence survivors said the abuse occurred in their home
Tactics perpetrators use
Beyond physical violence, domestic violence perpetrators use a range of tactics designed to establish and maintain control over survivors:
- 19% threatened to commit suicide and/or homicide
- 18% destroyed or threatened to destroy property
- 16% strangled or obstructed the victim’s breathing
Strangulation and threats of homicide or suicide are established risk factors for lethal violence and serve as warning signs that an abusive relationship has reached a point of acute danger.
Sexual Violence: What Virginia’s Data Show
Who is causing harm
Among sexual violence survivors whose advocates documented perpetrator characteristics:
- 89% identified the person who harmed them as male
- 65% said the person was between the ages of 25 and 59
The relationship between survivor and perpetrator
- 79% of sexual violence survivors knew their perpetrator
- Of those known to the survivor, 44% were intimate partners or household members and 30% were family members or caretakers, meaning nearly three in four known perpetrators had a close domestic relationship with the survivor
- 24% were acquaintances
- 2% were classified as “other”
Where violence happens
- 64% of sexual violence survivors said the abuse occurred in their home
Tactics perpetrators use
- 8% were stalked by their perpetrator
- 10% were strangled or had their breathing obstructed
What These Patterns Mean for Response and Prevention
The concentration of both domestic and sexual violence in homes and close relationships means that most survivors are navigating the aftermath of violence while still living near or financially connected to the person who harmed them. It means that children in those households are often witnesses to or direct recipients of that violence. It means that leaving is not a simple decision but a complex, often dangerous process that requires practical support — housing, legal assistance, safety planning, and financial resources — alongside emotional support.
It also means that when we talk about preventing sexual and domestic violence, we are really discussing changing norms and behaviors in the spaces where people are most vulnerable: their own homes, their intimate relationships, and their families.
The tactics documented in this data — coercive threats, strangulation, surveillance through stalking — are not incidental features of abusive relationships. They are the tools of a deliberate strategy of control. Recognizing them as such is the first step toward responding to them effectively and holding those who use them accountable.
Read the Full Report
- 📄 Download the full Survivor Advocacy in Virginia 2025 report (PDF)
- 📄 Read the official press release (PDF)
Who commits domestic violence in Virginia? According to 2025 data from Virginia’s Sexual and Domestic Violence Agencies, 84% of domestic violence perpetrators were identified as male, 90% were between the ages of 25 and 59, and 97% were known to the survivor — most often as a spouse, dating partner, or household member.
Where does domestic violence most often happen in Virginia? 94% of domestic violence survivors reported that the abuse occurred in their home.
Why is strangulation a warning sign in domestic violence situations? Strangulation is an established risk marker for lethal violence in abusive relationships. Its presence indicates that a perpetrator is willing and able to cut off a survivor’s oxygen, and it significantly elevates the risk of homicide. In 2025, 16% of domestic violence perpetrators in Virginia strangled or obstructed victims’ breathing.
Do most sexual violence survivors know their perpetrator? Yes. In Virginia’s 2025 data, 79% of sexual violence survivors knew the person who harmed them. Of those, nearly three in four had a close domestic relationship with the perpetrator — as an intimate partner, household member, family member, or caretaker.
What is coercive control in domestic violence? Coercive control refers to a pattern of behavior perpetrators use to dominate and control survivors, including threats, surveillance, isolation, financial control, and property destruction. These tactics often appear alongside or even before physical violence and are important indicators of danger.
Where can survivors in Virginia find help? Call the Virginia Statewide Sexual and Domestic Violence Hotline at 800.838.8238, text 804.793.9999, or chat at vadata.org. Free, confidential, 24/7/365.
This is the fourth post in our series on the Survivor Advocacy in Virginia 2025 report. Read Post 1: the full report overview, Post 2: what survivors say about the impact of services, Post 3: the funding crisis, Post 5: firearms and intimate partner violence, and Post 6: prevention.
You Deserve Safety and Support
Virginia Statewide Sexual and Domestic Violence Hotline Call: 800.838.8238 | Text: 804.793.9999 | Chat: www.vadata.org/chat Free. Confidential. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. 365 days a year.
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The Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance is Virginia’s leading voice on sexual and domestic violence. Learn more at vsdvalliance.org.
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