Unmarried Victims Face Highest Rates of Domestic Violence in Phoenix, With Guns Rarely Involved

By Staff Reporter |

Recent statistics from Phoenix’s Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team (DVFRT) indicate that unmarried couples are disproportionately involved in domestic violence incidents. In 2023, nearly 5,700 victims, or close to 51 percent of reported cases, were identified as boyfriends or girlfriends out of more than 11,100 total domestic violence victims.

Data also revealed that just over 1,500 victims were spouses, over 1,200 were parents or step-parents, while siblings accounted for over 900 victims. In addition, there were over 800 child or step-child victims, over 600 former spouses, more than 100 in-law victims, about 80 grandparent victims, and over 50 grandchild victims.

Despite the statistics highlighting unmarried couples, the DVFRT chose to examine the near-fatality incident involving a married couple for their Case Review Subcommittee assessment. This case exemplified common factors in similar incidents, including past criminal records and alcohol abuse. Recommendations from the study included enhanced participation by the fire department’s Crisis Response Teams, increased medical follow-ups for victims, and improved training for EMTs regarding strangulation cases.

Interestingly, firearms were not the primary method used in these incidents. The DVFRT report noted that in over 6,500 cases, victims were assaulted using perpetrators’ body parts such as hands or feet, including instances of strangulation. In addition, over 1,200 incidents involved weapons categorized as “other”, while nearly 700 employed knives. Firearms, including handguns and rifles, were involved in just over 500 and fewer than 50 incidents, respectively.

Assaults, including aggravated assaults, constituted the majority of reported incidents, totaling nearly 13,000. Criminal damage and protection order violations followed, with over 4,400 and over 2,800 incidents respectively. Alcohol consumption played a significant role, with over 2,200 cases attributed to intoxicated perpetrators and over 600 involving drugs or narcotics, accounting for more than 25 percent of all incidents.

The DVFRT findings highlighted that police responded to more than 33,700 domestic violence calls, leading to over 23,100 incident reports. More than 8,500 adults were arrested, with close to 2,800 arrests for aggravated assault, and over 260 connected to cases of aggravated domestic violence, which involve perpetrators previously convicted of domestic violence on three or more occasions within a seven-year timeframe.

The DVFRT operates under the guidance of leaders from the Family Advocacy Center and the Phoenix Police Department, with contributions from a variety of local organizations, including the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and Arizona State University.