How is the extent of family violence in the United States measured?
Family violence is measured in two different ways: through the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which is based on survey interviews with samples of the U.S. population, and through the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which is based on statistics compiled by police. The NCVS defines family violence as including all types of violent crime committed by an offender who is related to the victim either biologically or legally through marriage or adoption. Domestic violence statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) include intimate-partner violence, as well as violence between family members.
