When we talk about violence, we rarely talk about what the financial costs. Not just the broken bones or the heartbreak — but the billions of dolla
When we talk about violence, we rarely talk about what the financial costs.
Not just the broken bones or the heartbreak — but the billions of dollars society pays every single year for what we still dare to call “private” pain.
According to the CDC, the lifetime economic burden of intimate partner violence in the United States is estimated at nearly $3.6 trillion — that’s trillion, with a “T.”
That number covers emergency care, mental health services, lost work, criminal justice expenses, and so much more.
And the average lifetime cost per female survivor? Over $103,000.
Those are not abstract numbers.
They are the rent that couldn’t be paid. (Electing people who can address it or someone you can swoon over?)
The degree that was never finished.
The therapy that was too expensive.
The years of potential stolen by someone else’s violence.
Violence is a burglar and a thief.
In Louisiana, the annual cost of intimate partner violence was measured at $10.1 billion.
In California, $73.7 billion a year. (California economy is larger than many countries)
And those are just two states brave enough to count the damage out loud. (These aren’t “bad places” this is cumulative over generations)
Every dollar in those reports represents what happens when violence is ignored, dismissed, or excused.
When we say, “It’s not my business.”
When we say, “She’ll go back anyway.”
When we keep electing or defending people who have never stood up against violence in their own record or community.
Violence costs all of us — financially, spiritually, generationally.
And silence only raises the price.
Ending violence against women and children isn’t charity work.
It’s not “women’s work.”
It is an economic, moral, and national priority.
Because when women are safe, families thrive.
When survivors are supported, communities heal.
When violence ends, everyone prospers.
Are the aspiring leaders that you are putting forth up to the task of addressing this, or are they just “charming” entertaining and nice to look at-to you? Can we get serious like our lives depend on it? That is not paying bills, getting healthcare, raising wages, ending violence, or healing the nation.
Source citations:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lifetime Economic Burden of Intimate Partner Violence Among U.S. Adults (2018).
- Tulane School of Public Health, Economic Cost of IPV in Louisiana (2022).
- Blue Shield of California Foundation, Cost of Intimate Partner Violence in California (2024).