Thursday, Mar. 20, 2025
Was Oklahoma once ranked as the worst state in the nation for domestic violence?
Oklahoma was found to have the highest rate of domestic violence of any state, but that’s based on data more than a decade old.
The 2010-2012 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey reported that 49.1% of Oklahoma women and 40.7% of Oklahoma men experience domestic violence in their lifetimes, including intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner rape, or intimate partner stalking.
The most recent iteration of the survey from 2016-17 did not report state-by-state data.
An analysis of 2020 homicide data by the Violence Policy Center found Oklahoma had the second-highest male-on-female homicide rate in the nation at 3.28 victims per 100,000 females — 2.5 times higher than the national average rate of 1.34 per 100,000.
A 25-year analysis found Oklahoma consistently ranked among the top 10 states in this regard.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- World Population Review Domestic Violence by State 2025
- Centers for Diease Control and Prevention National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) : 2010-2012 state report
- Centers for Diease Control and Prevention National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) : 2016/2017 report on Sexual Violence
- Violence Policy Center When Men Murder Women - An Analysis of 2020 Homicide Data
- Violence Policy Center When Men Murder Women - A Review of 25 Years of Female Homicide Victimization in the United States
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation that produces in-depth and investigative journalism as a public service for the benefit of all Oklahomans. Through investigative, fact-driven journalism, we dig deep and examine significant issues facing our state. Our work engages all Oklahomans, amplifies the discussion of important issues and leads to change. We help develop the journalists and journalism of the future.
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