Illinois

By the Numbers

Summary

  • In fiscal year 2020, there were 67 reported adult domestic violence homicide victims in Illinois.1
  • In fiscal year 2020, 52% (n=35) of reported adult domestic violence homicide victims died by firearm.2
  • In 2015, there were 23,570 active protection orders in the National Crime Information Center for Illinois, 3,093 of which had a disqualifying Brady Indicator.3

Fatalities

There were 402 reported domestic violence homicide victims in Illinois between 2011 and 2020 (excluding 2018 and 2019); 43% (n=173) were killed by firearm.4

Domestic Violence Homicide Victims
Domestic Violence Homicide By Firearm
Domestic Violence Homicide Victims in Illinois, Fiscal Year 2011-2020

Notes:

  1. The Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence annually releases a report on domestic violence homicide based on online media outlet reports. *Data were not collected for fiscal year (FY) 2018 or 2019, as reflected in the graph. This was confirmed via email in April 2021.
  2. The above data include homicide counts during fiscal years. Fiscal year (FY) 2020 is defined as July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.
  3. This report includes homicides of domestic violence abuse victims as well as other related people such as friends, family including children, and coworkers of the victim. These figures do not include domestic violence suicides.

Intimate Partner Violence* Victimization and Related Impacts*

The lifetime prevalence* of any contact sexual violence*, physical violence,* and/or stalking victimization* by an intimate partner* in Illinois is:

Females

41.5% Experienced IPV
58.5% No IPV

Among female victims in Illinois who experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, 57.2% were concerned for safety, 32.4% were injured, 16.5% needed medical care, and 26.2% needed legal services.5

Males

25.9% Experienced IPV
74.1% No IPV

Statistically reliable estimates of the percentage of male victims in Illinois who experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime who were concerned for safety, injured, needed medical care, or needed legal services are not available.6

Domestic Violence Protection Orders

Protection Orders Active in the National Crime Information Center for Illinois, 2006-2015

There were 23,570 active protection orders in the National Crime Information Center for Illinois in 2015, 3,093 of which had a disqualifying Brady Indicator.7

Protection Orders in the National Crime Information Center
Protection Orders with Disqualifying Brady Indicator

Note:

State participation in the National Crime Information Center protection order file is voluntary, thus the extent to which states enter the orders into the system varies. Regardless of how each state refers to such orders, these records are uniformly referred to as “protection orders” in the National Crime Information Center database.

Definitions

  • Contact sexual violence: Combined measure that includes rape, being made to penetrate someone else, sexual coercion, and/or unwanted sexual contact.
  • Domestic violence homicide: For Illinois, domestic violence homicides includes both abuse victims as well as other related people such as friends, family including children, and coworkers of the victim. These figures do not include domestic violence suicides.
  • Intimate partner: Romantic or sexual partner and includes spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, people with whom they dated, were seeing, or “hooked up.”
  • Intimate partner violence: The five types of intimate partner violence measured in the NISVS include sexual violence, stalking, physical violence, psychological aggression, and control of reproductive/sexual health. Sexual violence includes rape, being made to penetrate someone else, sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact, and non-contact unwanted sexual experiences.
  • Intimate partner violence related impacts: For each perpetrator of domestic violence, the NISVS survey asks victims about specific direct impacts related to intimate partner violence to better understand the consequences of contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.
  • Lifetime prevalence:Proportion of a population who, at some point in life, have ever experienced the characteristic or condition.
  • Protection orders with a disqualifying Brady Indicator: Protection orders related to domestic violence that have been identified as those that prohibit the individual from receiving or possessing firearms under federal law.
  • Physical violence: A range of behaviors from slapping, pushing, or shoving to severe acts that include being hit with a fist or something hard, kicked, hurt by pulling hair, slammed against something, tried to hurt by choking or suffocating, beaten, burned on purpose, or used a knife or gun.
  • Stalking victimization: Pattern of harassing or threatening tactics used by a perpetrator that is both unwanted and causes fear or safety concerns in the victim.

This page was updated April 5, 2021. Please note that data used are the most recent available data.