What Virginia’s 2025 Data Reveal About the Link Between Firearms and Sexual and Domestic Violence – Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance

Among Virginia domestic violence survivors whose advocates assessed weapon use in 2025, 44% reported that the person who harmed them used or threatened to use a firearm against them. Among sexual violence survivors, 32% reported the same. In Virginia, nearly two-thirds of all intimate partner violence homicide victims are killed with a firearm, and 83% of those homicides occur in the home. These findings come as Governor Abigail Spanberger has signed new legislation strengthening firearms transfer laws and closing the “boyfriend loophole.” This is the fifth post in our series on the Survivor Advocacy in Virginia 2025 report.

The Danger Firearms Pose in Abusive Relationships

Research has established clearly that firearms dramatically escalate the danger in abusive relationships. It’s widely known that a firearm in the home makes it five times more likely that a domestic violence victim will be killed by their abuser. In Virginia, that research finding plays out in the data in the Survivor Advocacy in Virginia 2025 report:

Nearly two-thirds (65.5%) of all intimate partner violence homicide victims in Virginia are killed with a firearm
3% of those homicides occur in the home

These are not incidents involving strangers in public places. On the contrary, they happen in victims’ homes at the hands of someone the victim knew and often once trusted.

What Virginia’s 2025 Survivor Data Show

The 2025 data from Virginia’s 70+ Sexual and Domestic Violence Agencies add important context to these homicide statistics. Firearms are not only used to kill, they are also used to threaten, control, and silence survivors long before a trigger is ever pulled.

Among survivors whose advocates were asked about weapon use in 2025:

44% of domestic violence survivors said the person who harmed them used or threatened to use a weapon or firearm against them
32% of sexual violence survivors reported the same

These findings reflect what advocates have documented for years: the presence of a firearm in an abusive relationship changes the calculus of danger entirely. A survivor who knows their abuser has a gun cannot simply leave. The most dangerous time for a survivor occurs when a survivor is trying to break away from their abuser. Add a firearm into the mix, and the threat of death grows exponentially.

Firearms as a Tool of Control, Not Just Violence

Abusers use firearms to threaten and intimidate, exploiting their presence as a means to enforce compliance and silence survivors long before ever firing a shot.

This reality is reflected in the other lethality indicators documented by survivors in the 2025 data:

19% reported their abuser threatened to commit suicide and/or homicide
16% reported being strangled or having their breathing obstructed

Strangulation, threats of homicide, and firearm access are not isolated warning signs. They appear together in the data because they are all tactics in a deliberate strategy of control, and they all indicate that a survivor is at elevated risk of being killed.

Advocates are trained to recognize these patterns. The data are their evidence as well as the basis for the safety planning, lethality assessment, and connection to legal protections that advocacy makes possible.

The Broader Policy Context

Virginia’s new firearms safety laws are a significant step. They are not the only step needed.

Effective response to the intersection of firearms and intimate partner violence also requires:

Robust enforcement of surrender requirements when protective orders are issued
Adequate resources for the advocates who conduct lethality assessments and connect survivors with legal protections
Sustained investment in the Sexual and Domestic Violence Agencies that serve as the front-line response for survivors navigating dangerous situations

The 2025 data are not just a record of what happened last year. They are an argument for sustained investment in the systems and policies that keep survivors alive.

Read the Full Report

FAQs

How many domestic violence survivors in Virginia report firearm threats? Among survivors whose advocates assessed weapon use in 2025, 44% of domestic violence survivors and 32% of sexual violence survivors reported that their abuser used or threatened to use a firearm against them.

How much more dangerous is a home with a firearm in a domestic violence situation? Research shows that a firearm in the home makes it five times more likely that a domestic violence victim will be killed by their abuser.

What percentage of intimate partner violence homicides in Virginia involve a firearm? Nearly two-thirds (65.5%) of all intimate partner violence homicide victims in Virginia are killed with a firearm, and 83% of those homicides occur in the home.

What new Virginia firearms laws protect domestic violence survivors? In 2026, Governor Spanberger signed legislation strengthening firearms transfer requirements when protective orders are issued and closing the boyfriend loophole, ensuring that unmarried dating partners subject to protective orders face the same firearms restrictions as spouses.

What are warning signs of lethal violence in a domestic violence relationship? Established lethality risk factors include strangulation, threats of homicide or suicide by the abuser, access to a firearm, and escalating frequency or severity of violence. If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these, please contact the hotline below.

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 fifth 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 4: what we know about the perpetration of 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.

Support This Work

Advocates are doing the dangerous, essential work of standing between survivors and lethal violence. Help us make sure they have the resources they need.