last updated July 19, 2011

 

Domestic violence is widely recognized as a serious human rights violation that affects millions of women worldwide. In recent years, economists, human rights advocates, and governments have also become aware of the severe financial and economic burden that domestic violence imposes on victims, households, the public sector, private businesses, and society as a whole. Based on mounting evidence from studies conducted around the world, researchers have concluded that domestic violence significantly impedes economic growth and development.[1]

 

Violence perpetrated by an intimate partner is the most common form of violence experienced by women.[2] Moreover, the widespread prevalence of domestic violence is not limited to a particular country or region – it is a global phenomenon. A 10-country study by the World Health Organization revealed that between 15% and 71% of women in the countries surveyed, which included nations as diverse as Japan, Ethiopia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Brazil, had experienced domestic violence.[3] Studies in Uganda, Chile, and Nicaragua estimated domestic violence prevalence rates of 59%, 41%, and 53%, respectively, in those countries.[4] In a U.S. study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the “CDC”), 22% of women surveyed reported experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner.[5]

 

Recognizing the pervasive nature of the problem, researchers increasingly have begun to examine the economic effects of domestic violence, both in terms of financial costs to victims as well as the broader impact on national economies. Studies conducted in several different countries have attempted to quantify the aggregate economic costs of domestic violence, and the results are staggering.[6] A 2003 study by the CDC estimated that domestic violence cost the U.S. economy more than $5.8 billion in a single year.[7] Other studies have estimated the annual costs of domestic violence in the United States to be as high as $12.6 billion.[8] A study in the United Kingdom, which quantified pain and suffering costs as well as the costs of services used by victims and the reduction in economic output due to domestic abuse, concluded that domestic violence costs individuals, the state, and businesses £23 billion per year.[9] Studies in Australia and Canada have estimated the annual costs of domestic violence (and sexual assault, in the case of the Canadian study) at A$8.1 billion and CAN$4.2 billion, respectively.[10] Comparison with other spending metrics underscores the magnitude of these costs. For example, a conservative estimate determined that domestic violence costs New Zealand nearly as much as that nation spends on unemployment benefits each year – approximately NZ$1.2 billion. These studies reveal that the costs of domestic violence measure well into the billions.

 

The costs of domestic violence fall into several distinct categories which together contribute to the aggregate cost. The most often studied, and most easily quantified, category of costs is the category commonly referred to in the literature as “direct costs.” Direct costs measure the value of goods and services used to respond to domestic violence, for which there is typically a monetary exchange.[11] Direct costs are usually consumption-related and include the costs of healthcare services, social and welfare services, counseling, police and criminal justice services, legal services, transportation costs, and housing and other refuge services used by victims of domestic violence and special education services used to treat children of abused women. The cost of replacing property damaged by an abuser is also a direct cost of domestic violence.[12]

 

The cost of healthcare services consumed as a result of domestic violence (including emergency room and clinic visits, hospital stays, mental health services, medication, and physical therapy) is one of the most significant cost components.[13] The CDC estimated that the annual cost for healthcare services used to treat victims of domestic violence in the United States is at least $4.1 billion, based on 1995 cost figures.[14] Not surprisingly, research has shown that victims of domestic violence use healthcare services more intensively than non-abused women. A study in Nicaragua revealed that abused women used healthcare services with twice the frequency of non-abused women.[15] Moreover, victims’ use of medical services is not limited to treatment of the immediate injuries caused by an episode of violence. The adverse health consequences of domestic violence persist long after the abuse has ceased and may last a lifetime.[16] Findings from the World Health Organization confirmed that domestic violence is strongly associated with both short-term and long-term physical, mental, and reproductive health problems.[17] The substantial expenditures on healthcare services to treat injuries and illness caused by domestic violence divert economic resources from more productive uses.

 

While the direct costs of domestic violence include criminal justice and social services costs, studies have repeatedly confirmed that programs aimed at intervening in or preventing domestic violence are highly cost-effective.[18] A study of shelter services for domestic violence victims in Kingman, Arizona calculated that each dollar invested in shelter services returned between $6.80 and $18.40 in value.[19] Similarly, the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that civil orders for protection secured by victims of domestic abuse saved the State of Kentucky $85 million in averted services costs, property damage, and lost productivity in a single year.[20] On a larger scale, the 1994 U.S. Violence Against Women Act is estimated to have provided a net benefit of $14.8 billion over a five-year period.[21]

 

In addition to the direct costs of services and property replacement, domestic violence imposes significant indirect economic costs on victims, businesses, the public sector, and society as a whole. These “indirect costs” capture the effects of domestic violence that have imputed monetary value but for which no direct monetary exchange is made.[22] Indirect costs often relate to the impact of domestic violence on labor force participation and productivity.[23]  

 

Reduced earnings and lower productivity are among the most prominent indirect costs of domestic violence.   Studies have consistently shown that abused women earn substantially less than their non-abused peers. A Colombian study concluded that victims of domestic violence earn $60 less per month (or $100 less per month, if the abuse is severe) than women who have not experienced domestic violence, where mean monthly earnings are just $142.[24] A study in Chile found that, even after controlling for other factors that could affect earnings, abused women earn only approximately one-half to two-thirds of what non-abused women earn.[25] In fact, researchers have calculated that women in Chile earn roughly $1.56 billion – approximately 2% of Chile’s gross domestic product – less each year because of domestic violence.[26] In Nicaragua, abused women earn approximately $29.5 million – equivalent to 1.6% of Nicaragua’s gross domestic product – less each year due to domestic abuse.[27] 

 

Domestic violence often causes victims to miss days of work due to injuries, mental health problems, and fear of the abuser locating the victim at her workplace.[28] The CDC estimated that abused women in the United States missed nearly 8 million days of paid work in a single year – the equivalent of losing more than 32,000 full-time jobs from the U.S. economy.[29] Domestic violence also reduces victims’ productivity when at work as a result of lowered self-esteem, depression, elevated stress levels, poorer concentration, and other mental and physical health issues stemming from the violence.[30] Absenteeism and decreased productivity in turn can lead to missed promotions and even job loss.[31] Victims of domestic violence have higher rates of job turnover than non-abused women, contributing to victims’ reduced earning capacity and restricted job mobility.[32] A victim’s friends and family members may also miss work in order to assist the victim, multiplying the productivity costs to households and the larger economy.[33] In Bangladesh, researchers calculated that each incident of domestic violence costs the victims’ household, on average, roughly 4.5% of the household’s total monthly income.[34]     

 

Reduced productivity is not confined to the workplace – it is also experienced in the home. Abused women are less able to perform household chores, necessary childcare, and other domestic labor that is often critical to a family’s well-being, particularly in developing nations.[35] Research in Uganda revealed that women lose significant time from household labor, including essential tasks such as transporting water and washing, due to domestic violence.[36] In the United States, nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity is lost each year due to domestic violence.[37]

 

Research has also shown that domestic violence adversely affects women’s participation in the paid labor force.  Fear of continued violence from a controlling and abusive partner can prevent a woman from seeking paid employment outside the home.[38]   Indeed, studies have revealed that women who experience domestic abuse have lower rates of labor force entry and poorer job retention than non-abused women.[39]

 

Victims’ absenteeism and decreased productivity in the workplace also impact businesses by reducing the output and profits of victims’ employers.[40] Further, the elevated job turnover rates of victims of domestic violence burden companies with additional employee training and replacement costs.[41] An Australian study found that domestic violence costs the Australian business sector alone A$1.5 billion annually in lost profits, higher employee turnover, employee absenteeism, and increased tax burden to fund the costs of domestic violence borne by the public sector.[42] A study in the United Kingdom determined that domestic violence cost the country £2.7 billion in lost economic output in a single year.[43]

 

Even more significantly, scholars have noted that the labor and productivity costs of domestic violence spread far beyond abused women’s household finances and their employers’ profits to affect entire national economies.[44] Since each dollar not earned is a dollar not spent or invested in the nation’s economy, abused women’s reduced earning capacity results in lower savings and investment rates and shrinks the state’s tax base.[45] The high cost of services used by victims, particularly healthcare services, diverts resources from their most efficient use, which can be especially devastating in lower-income nations with scarce resources and fragile economic infrastructures.[46] Ultimately, domestic violence prevents an economy from reaching its full potential – stunting economic growth and productivity, depressing the nation’s gross domestic product, and reducing the standard of living for all.[47]

 

Researchers have also noted that domestic violence imposes significant nonmonetary costs, many of which have an economic impact. However, it can be challenging to quantify the economic impact of such costs in concrete figures.[48] As a result, many of the aggregate cost estimates discussed above do not include these nonmonetary costs and consequently underestimate the true cost of domestic violence.

 

First and foremost among the nonmonetary costs are the serious negative health consequences of domestic violence and the long-term toll they take on victims and society as a whole. Numerous studies have confirmed that domestic violence causes short-term and long-term physical and mental health problems including physical injuries, depression, stress, and substance abuse.[49] The World Health Organization reported that abused women are twice as likely to suffer from poor health and physical and mental health problems as non-abused women.[50] In addition, victims of domestic violence also sometimes suffer premature death at the hands of the abuser or as a result of suicide. Women who experience domestic violence are significantly more likely to attempt suicide than non-abused women.[51] In an effort to quantify these adverse health consequences, a 1993 World Bank study calculated that 9 million disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs, are lost worldwide each year due to rape and domestic violence – more than are lost to all forms of cancer and twice the number lost to automobile accidents.[52] The World Bank determined that DALYs lost to domestic violence and rape account for nearly one in five life years lost to women ages 15 to 44 in industrialized countries and 5% - 16% of life years lost to women of the same ages in developing countries.[53] Similarly, a 1999 study revealed that rape and domestic violence were the third most significant cause of lost DALYs for women in Mexico City.[54] The premature death of victims has economic dimensions as well, which researchers have attempted to monetize by estimating earnings lost as a result of premature death. For example, the CDC determined that domestic violence homicide in the United States cost $0.9 billion in lost lifetime earnings in just one year.[55]  

 

Domestic violence can also lead to reproductive health problems, such as delivery complications, terminated pregnancies, and sexually-transmitted diseases, particularly if abuse occurs during pregnancy.[56] A study in Colombia found that abused women have markedly higher rates of miscarriage and delivery complications.[57] The World Health Organization’s 10-country survey also reported that abused women are more likely to have experienced a miscarriage than women not suffering from domestic violence.[58] Research in Mexico and Nicaragua separately found that women who experience domestic violence during pregnancy are more likely than non-abused women to deliver low birth-weight babies.[59] Furthermore, in the Mexican study, abused women reported three times as many delivery complications as their non-abused peers.[60]

 

Domestic violence causes negative health effects not only in its victims but also in their children. Children of abused women suffer from higher rates of certain diseases and lower rates of immunization.[61] In addition, the disruptions in home life caused by domestic violence can have adverse consequences for children’s educational outcomes.[62] Studies conducted in Peru and Haiti found that children of victims of domestic violence are more likely to have a gap in schooling than children of non-abused mothers and are roughly one-half of a year behind their peers in school.[63] In Nicaragua, researchers determined that 64% of children of abused women missed a year of schooling and, on average, ended their schooling four years earlier than children of women who had not experienced domestic violence.[64] Interrupted education and higher school drop-out rates depress the earning potential of children of abused women, passing the negative economic effects of domestic violence on to the next generation.[65]  

 

Domestic violence can also contribute to behavioral problems in children. A study by the World Health Organization found that children raised in households where domestic violence occurred are more likely to have behavioral problems, drop out of school early, and experience juvenile delinquency.[66] Similarly, research in Chile showed that children of abused women are significantly more likely to have disciplinary problems in school than children of non-abused mothers.[67] In the long term, these behavioral problems are associated with increased levels of juvenile and adult crime.[68]

 

In addition, the multi-generational transmission of domestic violence has been well documented.[69] A child who witnesses domestic violence between his or her parents is more likely to view violence as an acceptable method of conflict resolution.[70] Studies have consistently shown that boys who witness domestic violence are more likely to become abusers, and girls who witness domestic violence are more likely to become victims of domestic violence as adults.[71] The transmission of domestic violence to the next generation further compounds the long-term costs to society.

 

Finally, domestic violence inflicts enormous pain and suffering on its victims – reducing their quality of life and leading to lower levels of overall satisfaction and happiness. Researchers repeatedly have found that, when monetized, pain and suffering costs dwarf the other costs of domestic violence.[72] A study in the United Kingdom found that pain and suffering accounted for £17 billion of the £23 billion total annual cost of domestic violence.[73] Similarly, research in Australia estimated that pain, suffering, and premature mortality accounted for A$3.5 billion of the A$8.1 billion aggregate annual cost of domestic violence.[74] In both the U.K. and Australian studies, pain and suffering were the largest single contributor to the overall cost of domestic violence. While scholars recognize the challenges inherent in placing a monetary value on victims’ pain and suffering, they also note that pain and suffering are routinely quantified in the legal system in awarding damages. [75] Monetary cost estimates of victims’ pain and suffering therefore should not be discounted as speculative or hypothetical. 

 

The many costs of domestic violence described above are borne by a variety of constituencies, including individuals, households, communities, businesses, governments (local, regional, and national), and society as a whole.[76] The direct costs of domestic violence are largely borne by the victims themselves, in out-of-pocket expenditures for services and the replacement of damaged property, and the public sector, through government-subsidized services.[77] Ultimately, however, the wider community shares in these public sector costs through taxation.[78] Victims, their households, and businesses shoulder most of the indirect labor and productivity costs through reduced earnings and decreased output and profits.[79] But, given the interconnected nature of economic activity, these costs too eventually spread throughout the broader national economy through depressed savings, investment, and productivity levels and reduced gross domestic product.

 

Lastly, it is important to note that, while the cost figures cited above are indeed impressive, they only scratch the surface of the true economic impact of domestic violence. Scholars have noted that the cost estimates produced by studies quantifying the effects of domestic violence consistently and materially underestimate the true costs of domestic violence.[80] There are several reasons for the conservative nature of these estimates. First, researchers agree that domestic violence is routinely underreported.[81] Estimates of prevalence rates used to calculate aggregate national costs, therefore, are likely significantly lower than actual prevalence rates. In addition, many studies use conservative definitions of domestic violence, often limiting its scope to physical and sexual violence for purposes of the study, and excluding emotional and psychological abuse due to the difficulties in formulating a consistent culturally-appropriate definition of emotional violence.[82] Studies also frequently exclude significant nonmonetary costs that have economic dimensions, such as pain and suffering and the detrimental health and educational impact on children of abused women, where accurately monetizing such costs can be difficult.[83] In addition, researchers sometimes use conservative estimates for service cost inputs used to calculate aggregate direct costs.[84] Finally, researchers have observed the difficulties inherent in accurately valuing victims’ lost economic activity and lost productivity in developing nations where significant portions of women’s work is unpaid, wages are depressed, and informal economic activity predominates.[85] 

 

Long-recognized as a human rights violation and a social ill, the economic toll of domestic violence is now being illuminated. It is evident from studies conducted around the world that the economic impact of domestic violence is felt far beyond the financial well-being of its victims, affecting businesses, governments, and entire national economies. Given its far-reaching economic repercussions, developing and developed nations alike simply cannot afford to ignore domestic violence.

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